Rumor Hunting

lets hope so….

Hey it sounds to me that the only person who is disgruntled is Fisher himself. What, he doesn’t like Parcells makes his top draft choice get him some water? Why mention that now? Holding onto that, says Fisher doesn’t like Parcells. Sounds like pour Mike Fisher is possibly recelecting some prior personal issues. …. Let’s be real here, not everyone is going to like Parcells. Heck, not everyone likes me, and I am much handsomer (not a word I know). To be a head football coach in the NFL, you have to be demanding, yet not every player isn’t going to respond well to that. But come on!! Parcells is a genious at finding what makes players tick. Some like that in-your-face stuff, and others like a laid back explanation of what was done wrong. Do you all remember how he was with Quincy? Yet he was very different with Larry Allen and Phil Simms wasn’t he? Reporting that Parcells is just “bullying” the team into hating him is rediculous!! Tears surely built up in my eyes when, after beating the Panthers two years ago, Parcells said, “You can’t call them loosers anymore!” This guy cares about his players!! … BTW another source (KFFL) is reporting that Ellis was concerned that the move to the 3-4 would bring down Ellis’ production and pave the way for Ellis’ release next year, right before he receives a $500,000 bonus. Now that makes sense why Parcells would be so upset! Of course he would get pissed off when one of his players would question his dignity! …. Ding! Ding! Ding! This hits the nail on the head! Josh, Rob, Chandus, Jon, (hope I am not missing anyone) and I have all been discussing this issue. What kind of split will be implimented between the 3-4 and the 4-3 defenses? What will be Ellis’ roll in the 3-4? … Now if you split the plays in half 50-50, and the Cowboys on average will play 60 defensive snaps, then its 30 plays in each set. My proposed break down is something like this:

Ellis – 100% in 4-3 sets = 50% of all plays
          40% in 3-4 sets = 20% of all plays (70% total)

Ware – 40% in 4-3 sets = 20% of all plays
           100% in 3-4 sets = 50% of all plays (70% total)

Glover – 100% in 4-3 sets = 50% of all plays
             40% in 3-4 sets = 20% of all plays (70% total)

Ferguson – 70% in 4-3 = 35% of all plays
                70% in 3-4 = 35% of all plays (70% total)

Spears – 50% in 4-3 = 25% of all plays
             90% in 3-4 = 45% of all plays (70% total)

Canty – 60% in the 3-4 = 30% of all plays (30% total)

Carson – 30% in the 4-3 = 15% of all plays (15% total)

Others – 10% in the 4-3 = 5% of all plays (5% total)

With a 50-50 split Parcells can play to his players strengths, but it also fits the rotation he wants. For example Glover will play every snap in the 4-3, Ellis will play every snap in the 4-3, and Ware will play every snap in 3-4 sets, and that plays to all of their strengths. Ware will get some time playing DE in the 4-3 opposite Ellis (probably on passing downs), and Glover will replace Ferguson at NT in the 3-4, but Fergie will take the majority of those snaps. Canty will be used as a 3-4 DE, as will Spears, but Spears will get some time in the 4-3 too.

Now it is out that this happened in MAY. So WHY is it coming out now?
Does not seem like any big deal to me-except for the mediots.

The article stated the obvious: Fisher realizes that this is an unconfirmed RUMOUR and that there WILL changes for The’Boys D this year, as well that Ellis, for a variety of reasons, will have to fit into the scheme in a different way than he has in past years.

As for Parcells and his “bullying style”, there are two ways such a style can be played:
1. You can be a demanding hardass about job performance but still be respectful to those under your authority as human beings,
Or
2. You can form a cult of personality, which unfortunately BP does. Terms like “Parcell’s guy” and “a player I ‘trust’” are a matter of public record. Not something made up by any anti-Parcells crowd. TunaMan does treat players differently based on whether or not they are one of his “guys”, regardless of their performance.

Of course I’m sure that I will be subjected to much abuse and vitriol for saying this, as it is to be expected for many people to have rose colored glasses about the things they love. And we ALL love The ‘Boys. I will never dispute Parcell’s abilities as a coach and I challenge anyone, anywhere, to beat him at drafting and player evaluation. I AM happy that he is here, he’s a winner. I just see him for what he is: a great coach who wins and motivates by practicing BS psychology tactics and playing personal favorites based upon a players willingness to brownnose him. No one is perfect.

Let the mudslinging begin.

Guys,

I’m not ready to buy into this thing yet either, but remember Pete Hunter. That did turn out to be true in the end.

My comments on BP notwithstanding, Hunter got what he deserved. Hunter sure didn’t light up any scoreboards while he was here and spent a lot of time on IR. Based on that, if I had been him and had Tuna (a*****e or not) more or less giftwrapped a starting position for me; I would have said “yes sir” and kept my mouth shut while I got after it. Of course, we know that isn’t how Pete acted;so good riddance. I’m glad we got something for his lazy butt.

During his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys, Greg Ellis has been the consumate professional. He trains hard and plays hard. There is no good reason to think that he will be any different this this year or the next, regardless of whether or not he confronted Coach Parcells. Further, we all know that Bill Parcells has a reputation for being a dictatorial coach. He has admitted in numerous press conferences that is just his style and he isn’t going to change. He is also known to be a master motivator. By season’s end, if Dallas is successful, Ellis will probably not be complaining about his role on the team and Coach Parcells will be receiving deserved accolades for leading the team to yet another playoff berth. If the Cowboys end up with yet another losing season, Ellis, Parcells, and a whole bunch of other people will be disgruntled.

Mike Fisher reported something interesting that he heard about. That is what a good reporter does. To me, he is neither a “basher” nor a “homer.” In other words, he attempts to be an objective reporter. I personally like his articles and find his style refreshing.

I should also state that I am a Texan, born and bred, and that I have followed the Dallas Cowboys, as a true fan, since the days of Don Meredith and Bob Hayes. Nothing would please me more than to see Dallas win 14 games and go to the Super Bowl.

We all want to believe that this is nothing more than a rumor, but it’s catching on. Cowboysplus.com is reporting a similar story on Ellis v Parcells. That’s a lot of noise for something that isn’t true.

Rob2,
That is disappointing news about a second report. If Ellis did stand up to BP (even if it was not GE’s intention to start trouble) and BP does follow form, GE probably will be traded eventually. But you are right, it will not happen until at least the trade deadline in October, after The ‘Boys have had a chance to see the progress of the 3-4 and the rookies. They will wait until the right opportunity comes up just like they did with Hunter so they get a good deal for him. It may not happen til next offseason, especially if Ellis has a great year stats wise by getting fewer reps. I hope it doesn’t though, Ellis is the exact opposite of Hunter professionally speaking, and doesn’t deserve to be cast out just to salve Tuna’s ego because GE “didn’t back down”.

the other thing if parcells is such a bully coach and his players hate him, then why do they all want to play for him in dallas???? i hope its just a story that was blown out of proportion. ellis is a huge part of the defensive plans no doubt, hes to good not to be.

Mike,
Guess you’ve never heard of Phil Simms? Players want SB rings. Some will put up with a guy like BP to get one.

James,

Funny you mention Simms. Was Simms a Parcells’ guy? Of course he was. Here is what Simms has said about his old ball coach, â€Å"He’s a great coach." So of course when Simms wanted to start the playoff games in 1990, he got what he wanted!! No Parcells did what he thought was best for the team by starting Hostetler. … The term “Parcells guys” doesn’t refer to the players he favors, “Parcells guys” are usually players with an excellent work ethic, when young – players that are good listeners and capable of learning, and put the team above themselves. These Parcells types almost alway become veteran leaders, much like Richie Anderson and Curtis Martin. Two class acts = Parcells guys.

Maybe the story is what it is, and they had a blow up. But I wouldn’t read into Fisher’s analyst here. He is scratching the surface of old wounds. … Like mentioning the L.A. thing. Larry Allen is reported in the best shape in years, I am sure his health, his looking better and being more confident alone has helped him to appreciate the push Parcells gave him. Kind of like hiring a personal trainer, if you have a strong will, they will push you and at the time you may hate it, but when the results come in, you have a great respect for dealing with the BS you gave them. I haven’t even mentioned what this push has done for Allen’s football career. … Fisher has the nards to even say anything about Parcells’ players getting water for him. If he doesn’t agree with those tactics don’t wait for a blow up to report your distaste. Where was Fisher two years ago when Newman was the water boy?

There are too many separate reports on this incident for it to be false. JJ Taylor now has an article over at DMN in which he quotes Ellis on what happened.

While this could become a problem, I just don’t see it. I do understand Ellis’ position. The 3-4 is not for him. He will not be a positive force (to put it charitably) whenever we line up in that system. But, Ellis has always been one of the best workers on the team, and I don’t see that changing because of this. He has voiced his concerns, and I expect him to play the best he can, regardless of where he lines up.

Nor is this remotely analagous to the Hunter situation. We had plenty of replacements for Hunter. We have no one comparable to Ellis to line up at RDE when we play the 4-3. In fact, I don’t believe we have anyone capable of playing that position for an entire game, other than Ellis. Think about that. If we decide to play the 4-3 for a game against a given team, who plays RDE if Ellis isn’t here? Ware? Teams wouldn’t even bother passing against us. Spears? Spears will become a fine 4-3 LDE, but I don’t see him being effective from the right side. Certainly not Ogbogu or Coleman. Those guys are backups. Canty might be the answer. But can we depend on a guy who isn’t even ready to practice yet, not to mention never having taken a snap in the NFL? I’m certain Parcells realizes this, and will not react rashly. I see Ellis being with the Cowboys all year.

Now, next year, all bets are off. Ellis doesn’t think he’ll be here (per Taylor), and he may be right.

There is one potential problem, though. If the implementation of the 3-4 stumbles, there could be dissension. It would take a saint for a person in Ellis’ situation to sit meekly by, if the team struggles when it goes to the 3-4. And, I do expect some early problems. I just don’t think that Parcells will stick with something if the Cowboys are losing with it.

It will be up to Parcells to motivate the team through the inevitable growing pains. I think he can do it. What we definitely know is that he can’t stand losing. Whatever (and WHOever) gives the team the best chance to win, Parcells will go with. Ellis needs to accept that.

James,

There’s no reason for flaming. Parcells does favor certain guys. You know what? So did Jimmy Johnson, who made it clear that had one set of standards for his playmakers and another, tougher one for everybody else.

What I find dishonest in the reporting is the claim of Ellis “standing up” to Parcells. Standing up for what? If he went in and said, “coach, I don’t think this is going to work,” or something to that effect and he didn’t back off when the coach told him something to the effect that he’s being a whiner or a baby (I’m sure Parcells words, IF THIS EVEN HAPPENED were far less delicate) how is Ellis “not backing off” when he sticks to his guns?

If this is what happened, then Ellis IS being a whiner. If he’s a bad fit, and he’s getting overwhelmed, he will be traded. People know he can play 4-3 end at a high level. He would bring good value on the market, cause guys like that are in demand. But a coach, any coach, cannot give his team the impression that they can bend him by complaining. Then, it’s the agents running the show, and not you.

But how does Ellis know he won’t fit? Has he played 3-4 before? I haven’t seen any reports that Flozell Adams is kicking his ass in practice. If he was being overmatched, I’m certain the word would have leaked out. What’s more, if he was really being overmatched, I’m sure Ellis would be on the block.

That’s why I take this story with a huge grain of salt. Ellis probably did have a bad day when the system was being installed. He might have complained to the coach. Who might have told him to “piss up a rope” as Fisher reports it. Ellis might have taken his medicine and moved on. Arguments with players and coaches happen all the time, on winners and losers. I’m sure there were plenty of fights and grudges in the Landry era. Clint Longley punched Roger Staubach in the locker room, after all.

I think the bigger subtext to the Fisher story, the one that has me thinking this is all hype, is his point that “there are people on the team who are not with Parcells.” What a shock. But what’s the point of pointing that out? The only reason I can see is to potentially revive the “Parcells might be leaving soon,” or “Parcells is losing his grip” memes that have been active currency for the mediots since Parcells hit town.

It’s been a while since you’ve heard those, hasn’t it? Do you really think the local press would let that theme die down completely?

Eric Richard,
Actually, Simms hates Parcells; has said so. Even so he has great respect for him. Never said he wasn’t a great coach. All of you might change your tune if you had to work for a guy like him.

Mr. Bill,
Good point about who would line in the 4-3 with Ellis gone. There are now three independent reports out there, one of which quotes Ellis. I agree that it will probably be next offseason. Build up his value first, unless an offer we can’t refuse comes along. It’s too bad, Ellis will probably be gone when things start to go good. He deserves better after the last few years. But BP will run a guy off just for spite.

Rafael,
Funny you should mention Jimmy Johnson. He was always playing head games with Troy Aikman, one most dedicated hard working guys you’d ever find. Troy hated it and it didn’t help motivate him. Jimmy even wanted to run him off in “favor” of Walsh. What a great decision that would have been! Perhaps GE was just being to hard on himself that day, and what he didn’t back down from was Tuna taking an opportunity to tear a good man down unnecessarily. Who cares if BP cussed at him. Who cares if Mediots want to speculate that BP will leave. If you look at his employment history, the only person BP has ever been truly loyal to is himself. That’s my point about him. I’m glad he’s here, but we are only a wild hair up his rear end from him retiring. If we don’t make the playoffs this year don’t be surprised if Tuna bolts. Never said he wasn’t a good coach. On the field he’s awesome. Off the field he gets on my nerves. He just unnecessarily uses some questionable methods on the wrong people. Nevertheless, if playing for him meant a couple of SB rings, I’d probably put up with his crap too.

James,

Agreed. I probably wouldn’t want to work for a guy like Parcells, thought he might make me better at my job.

My point is that we’re about to enter that gloom-and-doom vortex the press likes to play with any personality dispute on the team. Even if the argument was the worst possible one we can imagine, I don’t see how this damages the Cowboys. If Ellis is traded, he’s a valuable asset. Get a player who’s a better fit or get a high draft pick for him. Either way, if the team is going 3-4 and Ellis isn’t the right guy, I’m sure the move will be done sooner rather than later.

I just hate the melodrama that is spewed every time someone looks sideways at someone else in the locker room. This team gets covered in a Soap Opera Digest kind of way. I don’t see how a disagreement between Parcells and Greg Ellis could cost this team a good season.

I don’t buy it. Ellis has been a quiet blue collar hard working Sunday School teacher his whole career. While he and Parcells very well may have had words, I doubt it was very heated and I see Ellis as the known variable vs. a bunch of rookies yet to prove a thing in the NFL with pads on. I think this year is going to be about transitioning to the 3-4 not a wholescale shift. I don’t see Ellis or Glover as tradable this year or next. While Ellis may even be less of a 3 man front player than Glover, I think less snaps well allow him to perform fine in a 4 or 3 man front.

It is July and there ain’t nothing else to talk about except Travis Henry and some idiot on the Atlanta Falcons getting drunk and acting like a moron. Keep your fingers crossed that none of our players do anything as idiotic as that. We should start seeing some signings come across the wires here soon as we move towards camp. Wonder how the Cowboys pay Canty. That one will be an interesting contract, probably incentive heavy.

James………not everybody responds well to certain coaching tactics. I think Johnson and Aikmans relationship was a lot better than we speculate. Because Aikman was the one that tried to mend fences and bring Johnson back after a couple of Arkansas rednecks had too many cocktails and said things they should not have.

Bill Parcells is more than just a coach. He is a father figure, a motivator, part priest, part counselor, part drill sergeant, and yes he is loyal to himself and to his PLAYERS more than any organization. Listen to Bryan Cox or some of the other guys that played for him, LT, Phil Simms, and you get the impression that they did not fully appreciate him as a Coach and Friend until after he was gone………and would have liked to have had him back. Similar to his friend Bob Knight, he certainly has plenty of critics. However, the results are always there. There is one other loyalty that Bill Parcells understands, WINNING, he lost more sleep last year than probably any other year as a head coach. He fully expected better play out of his team than what he got, even with the injuries. He ain’t leaving til the Boys are in the Bowl………..mark my words!!!! This is the last stop til he rides off into the Sunset, he wants to beat Lil Bill on the biggest stage of them all!!!!

Rafael,
Agreed it can get silly and asinine when the press whips it into a frenzy. Apparently though, this is cropping up in other pubs now; at least one of whom is supposedly quoting Ellis.

When I first heard about the 3-4 switch, I wondered if Ellis would fit into it for all the well known reasons. He might not. I would just be sad to see him go just only because Bill and he couldn’t get along. GE deserves a trip to the SB for all the bad years he nobly soldiered through. Getting traded would deny him that just as The ’Boys are getting back on the SB road.

And your right, if he goes, we’d better get a first day pick for him.

Rafael,

Right on about Fisher’s hype! Bringing up old stories to fuel the flames, that is all he is doing, making the fire bigger than it really is.

In my opinion, it sounds more (from what Ellis stated) that he questioned Parcells’ dignity, by saying he is paving the way for his release, and putting Ellis’ $500,000 bonus (due to him next year) in jeopardy. Parcells should be irrate! … These two are consimate professionals, so they should be able to get over this.

James,

You get me proof that Simms hates Parcells! Simms still calls the guy, asking for pointers, especially about rookies and how Parcells evaluated them.

Secondly, you made the point that people don’t like working for him. How come a good percentage of his ex-employees come back to play for him? Come back to coach for him? .. and this has taken place were ever he goes. That is loyalty!! He has more loyalty than ANY coach I have ever seen, yet you question whether or not people like working under him. … If you were to say, his players either love him or hate him(the smaller %), then I could live with that, but to say he is hated by his players is REDICULOUS! Parcells finds players that he likes, that he believes he can motivate, but on occasion he inherits guys that he sees are just collecting pay checks, and have no interest in the team concept, so he gets rid of them. Nothing wrong with that!!

As I’ve said already, those of you that don’t get my point about Parcells have never had first hand experience working for a self-styled psychologist who uses manipulation to motivate. That’s what psychology is you know; a dishonest coercion of an individual through mental and emotional means. For every time one his players says that they never have to guess where they stand with him, I wouldn’t be surprised to find 3 times where they walked away with their heads spinning after Tuna chewed their butts AFTER he’d changed the rules in the middle of the “game”. True enough that the self-motivated and those of good character don’t respond well to such techniques. The Parcells type does play favorites for his own selfish reasons and anyone who doesn’t kowtow to that type of manager is persona non grata whether they deserve it or not.TunaMan’s genius is in finding players that are able to put up with it and still perform at a high level. And he is a genius when it comes to FOOTBALL itself, especially drafting. If GE WAS whining, good for Bill for kicking him out. Because of Ellis being the “consumate professional” that he is though, I am led to believe that BP was pushing buttons just to play his head games. If that is the case and this is not a Mediot stunt to liven up the dead time of year, I will be sorely PO’d if GE gets the shaft over this. I have spoken. Have a great weekend all.

James,

You still don’t have a point here! If it is as you say it is, then why do class act players like Martin, Meggett, and Anderson like him so much. Why do players like Keyshawn, and Cox rave about his coaching style. Why? Because thay are all no nonsense players. As in tell me what I am doing wrong, and tell me what I can do to fix it!! Go look at the players whom Parcells has cut, traded, what not and you will see most of them (i.e. Joey Gallaway, Derrick Ross, and Antonio Bryant) are self serving individuals that will cause a rift in any work environment. … Parcells was tough on Simms, and probably could have been easier on him as times in N.Y. had gotten better, but Parcells was just as hard on Bledsoe, if not harded!! And were did Bledsoe CHOOSE to sign? With his old ball coach!!

As far as Jimmy Johnson trying to run off Aikman over Walsh, nothing could be further from the truth. I recent read an article at Foxsports.com where Jimmy Johnson was discussing the draft and draft day trades and explained that what appeard to be an affinity of Walsh during his days with the Cowboyâ€â"¢s was nothing more than an attempt to preserve his value for a trade in the future, where he was able to turn a first round pick into a first, third, and additional pick which I canâ€â"¢t recall.

While I don’t like Parcell’s half empty outlook on everything, his ability to win and create loyalty are unquestionable.

James:

Your point of Parcells favoring his so-called “Parcells guys” is one that is mud. In this staff who are his favorites? Keyshawn comes to mind, Terry Glenn, Ferguson, Aaron Glenn and Bledsoe, those’re the players that looked at Parcells staying in here and followed him here. But he also inherited some players that now are viewed as his guys also: Glover, Nguyen, Allen (now that he responded to BP pushing him) and Roy Williams. And the guys he’s drafted so far: JJ, Witten, Al Johnson and Newman.

All those are players that have great work ethic, they like to win and that have a commitment to get better at their positions. I would guess that every coach in the NFL favors those types of players, because they know what to expect from them.

Knute Rockne son was sick once. He even had to go to the hospital. He visited him there, and then had to go coach the Notre Dame fighting Irish in an afternoon game. His son had a bad case of sore throat, probably strep.

When he spoke to his team, he said it did not look good. He was not sure if his son was going to make it or not. However, the last thing his son said was Dad just go WIN!!!! Knute tells this to his team, they take the field and blow out the other guys in the first quarter. By the next week his son had a “miraculous recovery” and was seen at the University.

So James, is that coercion, deception and lying……..or just some damn good Coaching!!!!

The great ones, Landry, Rockne, Shula, Parcells, Bear Bryant, all used various means to accomplish the goal WINNING. Just WIN BABY!!!! The rest is easy if you are winning. Parcells half empty approach is his way of keeping his team striving to get better. Remember the first year he was here we won our 8th Game over the Carolina Panthers. Parcells said to the media,“You are not going to be able to call them losers anymore!” Knowing the team would finish at worst at .500 with 8 wins. He throws bones out too, and believe me a compliment from a guy like Parcells who tosses em around like 2 ton boulders, is BIG. Listening to Bryan Cox on Fox Radio, you get the impression that Bill Parcells is percieved to be a lot tougher than he actually is. B Cox has said Parcells is the GUY that made him realize life off the football field. When you hear him talk about his coach, you realize what a wonderful coach this guy is. Listen to what Simms writes, yeah Parcells was hard on him, but he was, cuz he knew he could be a better QB.

I for one am glad we got the guy, and hope he stays til we win back to back Super Bowls. Let’s go Cowboys!!!!

This happened in MAY guys. about 2 MONTHS AGO.
And it is just coming out now. Makes you wonder why.
And James- I don’t care if you had to work for a SOB; you have never played pro ball under BP so all your so called experience means NOTHING.

james,
i was making a statement more then asking a question. but its all good, i also would rather play for a parcells type coach.

Did this happen in May? From the way I heard it, they were discussing Ellis’ roll during mini-camp in May, but the actaul blow up happened yesterday. Maybe I am wrong.

Chandus & Jon,

Way to go!! I had brought up similar points, but I am glad I am not the only one who feels this way about Parcells.

Jon, I told you this story already, but its a good one: It was early on in the 1990 season and Emmitt was just getting his first real playing time. The Giants were our “big brother” of the NFC East, and for some reason we played both games against them early in our schedule. It was the second game, and Dallas, although overmatched by what ended up to be the Super Bowl Champions, just kept battling right until the final seconds. The young team that Johnson and Jones had assembled showed true heart. At the end of the game, Parcells gestured to Johnson, fresh off his 1-15 season, and tapped his chin and said keep your chin up. I’ll never forget that! That little bit of encouragement from a man that is a living football legend! Wow!! Parcells – a giant, bigger than football itself at times, and for him to recognize the Cowboys’ effort, truely shows what kind of person he is … and as seen so many times before his players love him … a long list of them do!!

For those who have yet to read JJ Taylor’s version, here is the link — http://www.cowboysplus.com/topstorync/stories/071605cpcowlede.edd866.html This one’s free.

Burmafrd,

Yes, it is nearly two months since this incident occurred. So, how is it just coming out now? I assume it is because Ellis told some of his friends on the team, and the reporters took this long to nose it out.

Guys,

It wasn’t Mike Fisher who broke this story. It was Newy Scruggs. Fisher just heard about it and looked into it, interviewing, primarily, Scruggs. A also assume that Taylor started getting e-mails about it, and managed to get an interview with Ellis, which is more than anyone else had done. And, again, Scruggs probably heard it from one of Ellis’ friends on the team. I don’t blame any of them for reporting on an incident WHEN THEY FOUND OUT ABOUT IT, even if it is nearly two months old.

One thing to realize is that, so far, all we have gotten is Ellis’ side of this story. Certainly, Parcells wasn’t out planting rumors with the likes of Newy Scruggs. Knowing Parcells, I doubt that we will ever get the straight story from his point of view (unless he writes a book about it), even if he is asked about it directly by reporters, and he probably will be. He’ll probably just talk about all the other players he has had run-ins with.

The one thing that I don’t like about this is that the meeting came about because Ellis missed a practice and was CALLED IN to Parcells’ office. He just didn’t go in to clear the air. This is per Ellis’ own words, according to the Taylor story. I don’t like that Ellis was so upset as to go that route. Missing practice is not the way for a leader to prove his point.

However, Ellis now seems quite concilliatory about the whole thing and seems to be trying to calm the story down. I’m hoping it is just ‘one of those things’ that often happens on teams. Remember, Allen and Parcells were not exactly on the best of terms up until last summer. They seem to be getting along just fine, now.

As for Troy Aikman and Jimmy Johnson, in the beginning, it is true the Troy intensely disliked Jimmy. Troy probably wouldn’t have been able to survive without Babe Lauffenberg to commiserate with. It is also true that Jimmy wanted to trade Troy away. Jerry Jones vetoed that possibility. However, Johnson took the initiative and had a heart-to-heart with Aikman, which cleared away the bad feelings between the two. They are now close friends. Troy might not have appreciated the amateur psychology being practiced by Johnson, but he did appreciate a good coach, and Johnson was certainly that.

Troy, after being promised by Switzer to open up the offense at OU. Was overcome by Holloway an Option QB. Troy had to transfer to UCLA to finish out his College Career.

If there was ever a Coach at Dallas that Troy truly did not like. You can blame Jerry Jones for calling his old Drinking Buddy to man the sidelines. I really do not think Switzer was the coach.

After the games he would slap Jerry on the back and thank him for the great seats. Whenever he got next to Aikman he say………“Hey Troy, run the Option. First Option Left, then Option Right. Come on Troy Run that there option. It worked for Holloway!”

Michael Irvin said it best, all QBs are fragile. No way he said would he have ever pulled a stunt like TO did to McNabb. Landry and Staubach did not have the greatest relationship. Reeves and Elway either.

Jimmy never thought Emmit Smith was going to break Payton’s record either. In fact he told somebody when asked about all the carries on the young Emmit Smith….I am gonna run him til he drops then find another one! Jimmy was brash and arrogant and very very GOOD!!!!

Why not just move Ellis to the opposite side of Ware in the 3-4? … Someone said, he is not fast enough. Ellis sure is quick enough, and his size and technique rushing the passer are good. I’ll refer you to the Giants defense in the 80’s, they didn’t have two burners at OLB, but one burner (LT) and a sauvy player (Banks). My biggest concern wouldn’t be Ellis’ speed off the edge to rush the QB, but how Ellis is able to cover TEs and get back into pass coverage. Ellis definately can play the Banks roll as in shedding off the block of the TE, and pressuring the QB, he’s done that before. … Who else is going to step into that spot anyway? Ellis’ size there could be a huge help to this smallish LB core. Can you imagine getting Ellis, Ware, Spears, Ferguson, and Glover all on the field together? Like I said, why not experiment during training camp? With all that good size, and Ware’s speed off the edge, Dat and possibly Burnett too will have a lot of room to roam, and it should create nice blitzing lanes for them and Roy Williams also. … Think about it, Ellis’ run and pass rush responcibilities at strong side LB will be similar to playing DE in the 4-3, so the adjustment isn’t monumental.

Jon,

From what I know, Aikman went to OU to be an option QB. Notice the 300+ rushing yards his rookie season in the NFL.

After he broke his leg and lost his job he transfered to UCLA, it was Neuheisel that turned him into the pocket passer he had become. That’s why Neuheisel has so much street credit and also the reason it will be interesting to see what he can do with Boeller in Baltimore as the QB coach there.

Eric,

Why don’t you just stop wasting you time posting about Ellis, and call him up for a date. You have alot of good opinions but when you start to talk about Ellis being quick you lose all credibility. Take off the homer glasses bro. The man is slow. He needs to face the facts he’s going to make the team as a 3-4 DE or go to the bench. I’m sure Glover would be more than happy to have his spot.

Switzer told Aikman he was going to throw the ball more.

Aikman an option QB? Notice he did not have Emmit Smith to hand the ball too his rookie season. He also had a ton of sacks that year, rookies often scramble or run when they cannot find a reciever. Do you remember the play where he was hurt untouched scrambling from the pocket. He had a cannon of an arm, and supposedly Switzer was going to open it up. However, it was a lie by Switzer to get the best QB in the state at OU.

When you ask Troy about coaches that helped his career he most often cites Norv Tuner not Neuheisel. Regardless of any relationship he had with Jimmy, he and Norv were tight.

Jon not trying to be rude, but you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

Jon,

Where was Norv Turner when Aikman was the #1 pick coming out of college? How did he help Aikman go from an option QB reject to the #1 pick in the draft without ever coaching him up to that point?

Aikman could throw a football 65 yards flat footed as a sophomore in High School. He connected on 80 yard TD PASSES in High School. Troy as option QB? Come on Josh, was he ever noted for running or scrambling. I mean Dan Marino and Drew Bledsoe might have had less mobility than Troy, but Aikman was a passer from the time he was a kid.

Yes you are correct he was injured and Holloway replaced him. Switzer the ole Run the Option Left, Run the Option Right, just run the option, saw Holloway as the better OPTION QB. Troy was a pocket passer, it was in his DNA. Troy transferred to a program that threw the ball, and he had grown up in Cali before moving to Oklahoma. While I am not trying to take anything away from Neuheisel, he was not trying to convert Matt Jones to pocket passer, he was working with a kid that had a cannon for an arm. I am certain all of Troy’s coaches along the way assited in his develop at QB…….EXCEPT SWITZER!!!

Note his completion percetages in College and Yards. His accuracy was the stuff of legend in College and Pros. I would have to put you in the same company as Barry Switzer, as folks that believe Troy was an option QB. In case you have not noticed, Switzer ain’t exactly high on my list.

Josh,

Ellis was fast enough to get 9 sacks, wasn’t he? Go compare his speed to Pittsburgh’s OLBs!! How much faster are Foote and Haggans? Yet the Steelers defense was very good last year. Weren’t they #1? We already have a speed rusher on the other side in Ware. Besides a lot of articles I read about Ellis thinks he is quick, and uses good technique. Heck is the all time sack leader at North Carolina, and Peppers and LT both played there. You don’t do that without speed and quickness. Ellis is in the 4.8-4.9 range, and he is quick, which is different than speed. Oh BTW, the best DE in the league ran a 4.74 40 time (Julius Peppers). … You are putting far too much emphasis on a guys 40 time.

Eric,

I see your still waiting for the Simms i hate Bill P. quote or anything
close…you are going to have a long long wait.But that is “James” M.O.
( I’m still waiting for similar quotes from B.P. players from a past
 thread) throw something out there to stir things up and then change the topic on the next two or three posts along with his usual “would you
work for the guy” pyscho babble nonsense, coupled with a you(eric)
don’t get it.James hates B.P. why he can’t admit it is what i don’t
get.

Becker,

James didn’t answer my specific question, but he wouldn’t be the first person to do so. I like to make points backed up by facts, and yes you get a lot of people who …. just change the subject when they are given facts that prove them wrong. James’ point is a dead one, because if he what he said was true, a long list of players wouldn’t be lining up to play for him again. When you look at Keyshawn, Curtis Martin, Richie Anderson, etc. they are all players that you can reasonably feel that will take corrective critisism, and become better from it, and keep the mind that Parcells was tough on them only to make them better … which in the end is their ultimate goal is to be the best football player they can be. On the flip side Galloway, Ross, and Bryant can easibly be seen as players that thought they knew everything already, and Parcells correcting them would end up in a big mess.

Yeah Josh,i agree about Aikman’s arm strength,I heard he used to go duck hunting with his dad when he was in high school,they didn’t even take shotguns!His dad would just yell “there’s one!” and Troy would throw a football up there and knock em down……

Eric:

Ok, first of all, get your facts straight, the OLB’s in Pitt are Haggans and Porter, Foote is an ILB. And both, Porter and Haggans are 240-250 lbs LB’s that have 4.5 speed. For you to measure Ellis with them, you would need to erase the Ellis the league and the rest of us in this forum knows and draw him again from scratch.

Though, you’re right with Banks… He was more of a strenght player on the outside, faster than Ellis but not for much.

But in today’s NFL, and I mean, with the speed the QB’s are throwing the ball, I think that you need to align fast players on the outside, because quickness could prove to be unenough facing a RB on the outside or some of the faster TE’s.

Eric,

You make some good points about Ellis as another OLB. If Ogbogu is being considered why not Ellis. I would say because we still ain’t got enough good proven Defenisive Lineman to line up yet another DE as an OLB.

The 3-4 lining the DE up over the tackle to the inside instead of to the outside. I mean Ellis has fought through Offensive Tackles, TEs, RB, G and the occassionally C. 6’6" 270+ is what Ellis is listed at. Obviously he has been in the league long enough to have found his best playing weight for a combination of Speed and Strength. Ironically the sentiments he is voicing about the 3 down lineman was also stated by Jason Ferguson, who simply said that the 4 man front allows the DT and DEs to get more plays. The 3 man front relys on the blitzing of LBs to make the sacks. The thing is while Greg Ellis might be a true 4 man DE, to say the guy cannot play in a 3 man front, or that he cannot add weight or technique, or perhaps as you continually suggest line up as an OLB on passing downs. In truth I would say Ellis could probably accomplish all of these. Spears may have the true 3 man front size, but Canty does not yet. I think Parcells would want Canty to add 10-15lbs of muscle over the next two years. If you look at Cantys height, weight and compare it to Ellis they are similar. Canty taller. So here is a guy we draft to play DE in the 3 man front with similar size to a Greg Ellis.

Ellis is probably looking at the lower time on field, the lower percentage of sacks a DE gets vs the OLB in the 3 man fronts……and seeing his Trade Value, Pay Check, and shots at a pro bowl diminish. Unfotunately I do not agree with those sentiments, but certainly can see a team leader like Ellis asking Parcells about what he sees from him. If Ellis was lined up in an OLB formation, it would be automaticallly assumed that he was a pass rushing LB,(i mean do we really want our best DE chasing down TEs and WRs? I don’t) where as Ware and Burnett or Thornton, James, Nguyen, and Shanle and others have proven (ware has not but the others have) that they could drop back in coverage. But hey you know what I would rather have my Safeties, Corners, and Nickels covering recievers and TEs and let the LBs BRING THE HEAT.

While we are all guessing at what our formations will be and Zimmer and company are trying to learn the 3-4, I think Bill Parcells is having a good chuckle at the thought that nobody will really know which formation we will run. We certainly have talent to do a 4-3. Imagine this one………Ellis, Glover, Ferguson, Spears…….Ware as an OLB in the 4-3……..or you got with Ellis, Spears, Glover, Canty(once healthy) and a Ware as an OLB in the 4-3…….Ware could still blitz as a LB and you got a lot of been in the front 4……….Ok you say you want Ware as the speedy DE……….Ware, Spears, Glover, Ellis……..again Spears…….and who knows maybe that kid Ratliff develops too…………

Personally I think 3-4 presents a little more deception and can give you better coverages and pass rush. However a 4 man front with good personell has historically provided a few Dynastys. See Dallas Cowboys of 70-90s…..and the Steelers. Purple People Eaters anyone.

I agree with Wade Phillips who says the fundamental difference is in one formation you have 3 down lineman and 4 linebackers………the other 4 down lineman and 3 linebackers. I think too much is made out of the linebacker not being over 250lbs. I mean Zach Thomas is going to play 3-4 this year. Do you think he will suck based on the formation, me either, the guy is a football player. I know Greg Ellis is…….and I sure hope Ware, Spears, Canty, Ratliff, Ferguson, Henry, Glenn, Burnett and Beirault are. WOW look at that 9 guys that are going to be seeeing time on the Defensive side of the ball this year and all of em are new to the Cowboys.

You know with the 3-4 you can disguise the blitz much better. I mean we all knew Taylor was Coming right. But you never knew when it was going to include a S, or a Corner, a MLB or the other OLB…….with the LBs being vocal and able to make calls at the line of scrimmage after evaluating the formation………..you can have some fun on Defense amd flexiblity that is harder to hide in the 4-3………..if occassionly that means Greg Ellis is lined up as an OLB……….that is fine with me. Let’s just make some McNuggets out of McNabb either way!!!!!!

Somebody earlier said McGinnest ran a 4.4 40. Realize that is that is true we are talking about Darren Woodson Speed. I find that hard to believe for a guy his size. I think Freeney is in the 4.5 range, and he is considered Fast………Ware is 4.5 range and considered a Speed Rusher…..at 250lbs……..oh and by the way some CB came into the league in the first round that were at 4.4 in a 40…….and they went in the first round……..not sure about that 40 time for Willie………unless his last name was Gault.

Chandus,

My bad about ILB and OLB. Yahoo sports had their depth chart wrong. I was wrong in to compare Ellis to Foote. On Haggans on the other hand, here is his combine work out:
 
 
Clark Haggans – Colorado State 6-3-3/8, 253lbs, 5.04 40 time …..

(that is a 5.04 40 time) my source:
http://www.footballsfuture.com/2000/combinestats.html

Jon,

McGinest did have a great 40 time, but we all know if he played that fast (with his size) he would be getting 12-20 sacks a year. He also hired a special trainer to shave partial seconds off his 40 time (on the track!!), admittedly it worked. The partial seconds haven’t translated to McGinest being a better player on the field. .. Here is what I don’t understand: Peppers is considered fast (4.74), and Ellis slow (4.8).

Jon,

I’ve been watching Oklahoma and UT football for 30 years and I’m sure a bit more educated in the happenings of the two programs than you. So I’ll let that discussion slide for now. Go eat your NE clam chowder and leave old South West Conference football history to those that know.

In an earlier post you bucked my statment that it was Neuheisel that was responsible for his development as a pocket QB, yet now you are lauding his development at UCLA. Aikman was never expected to become the QB that he did.

We don’t eat NE Chowder in Virginia. The best Blue Crab Cakes you ever tasted, if you ever had such a thing. Sorry your brown nose is up Switzer’s rear. Your loyalty to OU overcome your objectivity. Now Stoopes…….that is a football coach. Switzer had no discipline and his program showed it. Brian Bosworth might be Switzer and Josh’s poster boy, but he was never mine. I will take a RB from Auburn over him anyday.

I said I was sure every coach had helped Aikman along the way except SWITZER. You may very well be more educated on OU and UT football perhaps you like Switzer was content to run the option with Holloway. Run Right Troy Run Left Troy……..just run it. Meanwhile the guy was hitting 80 yard strikes in High School. Come on Josh.

Aikman had one of the most impressive workouts of any college QB ever. It is what launched him into the first round first pick status. Since when is the first player taken not supposed to be a good QB. You are probably upset cuz he did not attend you High School or some other stupid reason. Furthermore the intellect of that guy was extremely high. Ever hear him call a game, he still reads defenses the way he did as a Dallas Cowboy. You say he was never supposed to become the QB he was, and yet credit UCLA and not Norv Turner and Troy himself for his own Success. Troy worked hard. He studied. Yeah he struggled at first on a pretty rotten team. Irvin first under Landry, then Troy by Jimmy then Emmit by Jimmy. The rest well is history. The O Line improved, and the defense under Jimmy came around. Before too long he was wearing three rings. One while still feeling the effects of a concussion, that cut his career short. Without concussions he is still under center for the Dallas Cowboys!!!! And let me add, he would be our best option at QB Bledsoe or NOT!!!! Bill Parcells even gave him a hard time out at a golf tournament……you going to hang out with us, you might as well SUIT UP……..he said.

Troy Aikman was born to throw the football and not run the option for the Sooners and Switzer. Hech had he not been lied to by Switzer who knows what kind of college numbers he would have put up……..maybe even better than the 3rd Best Passing numbers in College…..as it was they were not bad……….the kid could CHUCK the football……..maybe you been drinking too many cocktails with Barry out in the Cow Pasture………or breathing in the methane gas from the backside……….either way……….Troy running the option is ridiculous.

BTW…Beamer’s Boys at Va Tech………and ND both gave USC better fights than your OU Sooners. UT which UT……there are two you know!!! I do not know too many folks that have two favorite college football teams Josh, but then again……..with you…….it is no surprise. Maybe you and James can go have a group hug and think about what a great Coach Switzer, Gailey, and Campo were……..while I relish in the fact that Parcells is building a winner in Dallas. I think I have to agree that Auburn should have gotten the title SHOT they dieserved. At least it would have been a game!!!! And your UT team, would still be struggling if they had not stolen a coach from the ACC!!!!

Eric,

Was it 4.4 in the 40 for McGinnest? If so, that is extremely fast for someone his size. or was it like 4.49……..and it is being exaggerated to 4.4? Either way the guy is fast, but 4.4 speed is coveted in the secondary and harder to find among the front seven. Jimmy certainly loved the speed of his linebackers……but Parcells wanted size and strength………and a combination of speed……..I just have a hard time believing Darren Woodson and Willie McGinnest and Antrel Rolle all TIE in a 40 yard dash and beat Emmit Smith. But hey I ain’t saying it aint possible.

I think Ellis will do fine as a DE in a 3 man front. He is also going to benefit from less time on the field. You know, I had a boss once, and if he told me he wanted me to work less, and make the same amount of money……..I would have been loving life!!!!

This has probably already been posted, but here is an article with Ellis commenting on the situation.

http://www.cowboysplus.com/topstorync/stories/071605cpcowlede.edd866.html

Jon,

At what point did I give Switzer any credibility on anything? Sp I’m not sure where your animosity is coming from other than you are just wrong on the role that Neuheisel played in Aikman’s development. He made him what he was at the legendary workout you speak of. His work with Aikman is what catupulted his career. I assume your second favorite team is the Ravens and you should be happy that Neuheisel is working with Boller. If the kid is going to be any good Neuheisel will make it work for him. The coach was mentioned for the job in Dallas on more than one occassion because of his relationship with Aikman. My point in getting into you with this is that Aikman was far more mobile before the broken leg that people knew, and being from Henrietta, OK he wanted to go to OU and play for the sooners. They weren’t going to change the entire offense because of Aikman you nit wit.

McGinest ran a 4.48 40 coming out of college.

Landry and Staubach were very close by the time Roger retired.
Landry always said that Roger was both the greatest QB and the greatest leader he ever had or ever saw. Roger was one of the pallbearers at Landry’s funeral.
One must remember that in the middle to late 80’s most of the really successfull college teams – the teams contending for NC’s- were running the option. Miami was pro style, but not hugely so, ND, Nebraska, OK, etc were option teams. Holloway was a great option QB- he was better then vick at running.

Josh,

Quit making assumptions. In the NFL I have no second favorite team. Cowboys always.

I might root for this team or that in the playoffs, but never liked any team but the Cowboys………again……a local player like Vick…….sure I watch him he is entertaining.

You are the one that said Aikman was not supposed to be a great QB, not me. I never once took away from Neuheisel……..just said AIKMAN himself credit Norv. I did say……Switzer had nothing to do with his or any other players development for that matter………Barry was a figurehead on an incredibly talented run of OU football. If you are honest, you wonder why they did not win more than they did.

Well I aint the NIT WIT, Switzer was for Telling Aikman he would. Bob Stoopes does not run the option does he……….but I guess he is a nit wit for changing it to an offense that had 3 WRs drafted into the pros this year.

If you have Mike Vick do you change your offense for him? How about Barry Sanders…Emmit Smith…..or Randy Moss…….or uh……..Dan Marino. Then why not for a kid that could launch the football 65 yards flat footed in high school………Troy Aikman was born to throw the football……and by the way………every level increases passing yards vs. rushing or a QB……..look it up………High School rushes more than College……College more than the pros…….but by the time you are in the NFL not at OU or UT you are launching the football to a guy with sub 4.4 speed running a pass pattern……….who would you rather have carrying the football………Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, Randy Moss or Dan Marino and Troy Aikman.

I do not give a crap about Kyle Boller or Baltimore or Billick or any of that. Why Baltimore, why not the Redskins they are closer after all? Personally Boller he is a protege of whats his name……..and I ain’t all that impressed with the rest of his players yet either. If I had it to do over, the Jake Delhomme visit would have turned into a signing and we would have figured out our QB situation instead of Carolina. That kid can chuck it too……….another Ragin Cajun…..he is the only guy in the league with that Brett Favre Fire……..but then again if you and Barry had to call the play it would be Option left………now option right………ok let’s fool em and go with another option left!!!!

When I think of great college coaches I can name a hundred before Barry Switzer comes to mind!!!! And you know Bob Stoopes and his brother would both come to mind before Barry. Among Nit Wits he is at the top of the list………..

“Hey Jerry, thanks again for the great seats I enjoy pacing the sidelines. Man the view is great. Hey what do you think of Troy trying out the old OU option, you know option left, option right……..really fools the defense of UT.” Barry Switzer asks of Jerry.

“Maybe next year.” Jerry says………as he thinks to himself……….God how long am I going to live to regret getting drunk and letting Jimmy hear me say anybody could coach the Cowboys. Geez, Switzer is an idiot…….he thinks he has free tickets……and he wants Aikman to run the option. Oh the hangover from hell continues. Hmmmmm……….Chan Gailey…….that guy and Aikman might have something together. Let me find his number. I wonder if Tom will come back? Maybe Norv will leave the redskins? Then hands Barry another cocktail to shut him up!!!!

Jon,

I believe the first time McGinest ran, he was in the 4.67 range. Then he hired some guru, to basically get him out of the blocks better (which in my opinion adds nothing to his play on the field). He then got down into that 4.4 range, I believe 4.48 like Josh said. But as already said, if he played at his 4.40 speed he would be feared like LT was. … You are right, McGinest probably isn’t as fast as Rolle or Woodson, but go tell that to some of the guys on this site and they will tell you something else.

…. All these Ellis bashers aren’t commenting about Pepper’s time or Pittsburgh’s OLB, Clark Haggan’s time in the 40. You all keep commenting on how slow Ellis is, but where is your support of that? The best (IMO) DE in the league ran a 4.74 time and the starting OLB on the top defense last season ran a 5.04. Again I will ask why not TRY Ellis at OLB in the 3-4? I’d be willing to bet that he is faster than Carl Banks too!!

Eric,

That sounds more like it. Some GURU getting him below 4.5 is impressive. But it goes back to an old argument of mine, speed is genetic……..not developed…….and I would arge McGinest plays at his 4.67 speed………or at least in my humble opinon. Which hey aint bad the guy is a a great player. No doubt, I just never thought of him as faster than Emmit, Darren, Antrel………..not to mention Haley, Freeney, Peppers and others.

I am with you on Ellis. Again I think he is more valuable as a DE than an OLB, but I think and have argued he is going to be the biggest benefator of better surrounding cast……….the savy experienced vets always are……I ain’t worried about Bill and Greg hammering out a few disagreements. I always argued with my superiors. The great ones always DO!!!!!

Yes Roger and Tom eventually became fast friends. They had tremendous respect for each other. But it came over years, and Roger even late in his career would argue play call and strategies with Tom. my point on that was this, Troy and Jimmy not being buddy buddy is nothing new to a QB and Head Coach relationship………footaball can be about friendships or championships……..peronally I will take the latter!!!!! You can sit around and relive the glory days if you win a few. The great ones always have respect and give it, but they are not always fiiends with the entire staff or cast of players. Sometimes their play elevates them above it all, Michael Jordan for example…..he has friends…..and then thier are plenty on his championship teams that complain about his competitiveness……..his overbearing……….his sole devotion to WINNING……..but in the end they all benefit………even those that disagreed with him.

Show me a good loser, and I will Show you a LOSER!!!!!

If winning does not matter than why do we keep score?

Eric Says:

April 29th, 2005 at 10:00 pm
Did you all hear, Parcells is moving Gurode back to center. This makes some sense since Andre has made a habit of making mental mistakes. Maybe he is just in the groove of that center position. I wonder if Parcells might move Johnson, to get his best 5 blockers out there. Adams, Johnson (at LG), Gurode, Riveria, and Allen (at RT)?? Who knows he might experiment. Dallas.com reports that both Allen and Flozell have gotten into great shape. This possible experiment with the O-linemen might solve our question at RT if no one else steps up.

… This was posted in April. Now we are hearing a bunch of reports about getting “our best 5 blockers on the field”. I got some heat on this post, but it sure seems like this is a good possibility. Just thought I would mention that.

Now getting back to the Ellis thing …

Josh A Says:

July 17th, 2005 at 12:41 am
Eric,

… when you start to talk about Ellis being quick you lose all credibility. Take off the homer glasses bro. The man is slow.

… I have responded, so I am waiting for you to. I have pointed out that Pittsburgh’s starting OLB has 5.04 40 speed, and they were a pretty darn good defense last season. While you are stuck on speed, I will add another guy how has above 5.00 40 speed … Darren Howard, who by the way averages about 8 sacks per year.

… I am waiting Josh!!

… Oh and my point about having “the best blockers on the field”.. It might just be the same scenario for the defense, get the best defenders on the field, and Ellis will certainly be part of that group.

Burmafrd,

What experience do you have playing pro-ball tough guy?

Parcells is a great coach.

Those who believe he is a “Saint” are believing the PR and think as critically as lemmings racing towards the cliff.

Hey guys,
I am a long time reader of this site. I have to say the guys who run it deserve a lot of credit. I was wondering if any of can help me out on this. I am moving to Virginia soon. Do they show Cowboys games often, I know its skins territory. Or should go for Sunday ticket. Thanks in advance

I have never said he was a saint or even in the same universe.
I asked you if you had played pro ball under Parcells- otherwise your rant
about that tough SOB means nothing.

well that depends…….there is a good Cowboys bar in Va Beach.

But Redskins bump the Boys, being in the NFC East even if it is the game of the week. Of Course the boys play em twic, but the Ticket would be your best bet.

Unfortunately the Redskins get a lot of attention, as does Carolina and Baltimore. However, the Boys being in Dallas sometimes helps or this year they play a lot of west coast stuff so am hoping they will have the later games.

the bit about Johsnon going to Guard- he is a little small at center- he would be tiny at guard. Plus I do believe he has never played guard.
Or if he has, it certainly has not been in the last few years. NOT someone you want to put there.

I don’t know about that,

isn’t he listed at 6’5" and 298 or something? how much more does rivera or noll way or peterman? I think they are 305, and most of them lose a few inches on Johnson. I don’t know if that means he’ll be moved to LG or not, but I don’t think he’s small, for a center, or Guard..

My little bit about Johnson moving over to play guard, well, its kind of complicated, but I do want you all to know that it would just be a try and see if it works out approach. My thinking is Gurode was an exceptional center at Colorado, and was forced to move to guard and never took to that position. I mean his entire life playing football he created a routine, a routine developed at the center position. When he was asked to make the change, his timing and footwork got messed up. Parcells, in my opinion, thinks Gurode to be a good blocker, but a player that makes too many mental mistakes. Now if he goes back to center, and shows his old form, then try to see how Johnson does playing guard. Johnson may adopt better than Andre, and hence the Cowboys would get there 5 best blockers out on the field. (Adams, Johnson, Gurode, Riveria, Allen)

Of course, there is a chance Gurode continues making stupid mistakes or Johnson attempts the switch and has the same types of difficulties. But I think if Gurode comes on strong early in camp, then Parcells might talk with Johnson … that is all I am suggesting.

Eric,
Bad suggestion. Only because Gurode has exceled at nothing as a pro. Johnson is a potential Pro-Bowler. Gurode will make the team as a backup center or not at all.

John or is it Burmafrd,
Again, what experience do YOU have in professional football. Actually, it is the rantings of a schizophrenic that have no relavency. May the herd be happy with its illusions.

Eric,

If Gurode was sooo good at center why did we burn a 2nd round pick on another center the very next year?

Josh,

Oh, you are going to respond? ….

But to answer your question, Gurode was moved to guard. He had initially won the center spot in training camp his rookie year (2002), but moved to guard to “help the team”. Gurode did well in those (6) games playing center.

Eric,

If he was so good at center then they would have drafted a Guard you freaking deutshe bag. If you have a good center on your team that is going into his second year you dont burn a 2nd round pick on another Center, who is only going to be able to play Center. You are a moron to beat all morons. According to you we have 22 starters who should all be probowlers. All you do is sit on here and gush about how great all of our players are, yet you fail to realize we went 6-10 last year.

I have been following this discussion to see what type of impact this will have on the ’boys skill players. Do you think the boys skill players will do better than most expect?

Eric,

And your supposed point “about having the best blockers on the field”, was stated by Stephen Jones last week you freaking rip off.

Josh,

My post was posted in April. Go check it out!! It on this blog!!
http://blog.theboys.com/?p=128#comments

And let’s get back to that arguement about Ellis’ speed … you know the one were you say I lost all credability … back it up BOY!!! Don’t go changing the subject, because you have no ligitamate responce!! You said Ellis was slow … Sooo much slower than Peppers!! Actually faster than Howard (8 sacks per year) and Haggans (OLB for Pitts #1 defense)!! His sack numbers (average per year)are right there with super fast McGinest!!

Are you going to pick another fight and hide when I make you look bad?? You asked about Gurode, and there I gave you the answer. A good one at that.

Now please don’t run and hide after you hit the link and will prove your last comment to be “out of touch” … I posted it in April, and it sure looks like I was right about it too.

Eric,

To show you you you a lying sack of crap. You said that the Steelers outside LB’s run above 5.0. I have my backup here to show you what a liar you are and also going to show that you just made it up.

The two starting OLB’s for the Steelers currently are.

Joey Porter 4.64 40 yard dash.

http://secure2.steelers.com/team/player/49234/

Clark Haggins 4.95 40 yard dash.

http://www.football-gaming.com/ratings/profile.php?pyid=1689

Haggins obviously the slower of the two came in last year in place of Farrior. Also it should be noted that there is alot of interest from the Steelers in aquiring Peter Boulware. Reason being? They hope he can bring a little more speed to the OLB position.

Eric for you to even sit on this site and talk about how good Gurode is, means to me that you don’t even watch the games.

FJ,
    I live in Jersey smack dab in between new york and pilly(this sucks if your a dallas fan) and i usually get like 10-12 cowboys games a year. But I do get a fox comin out of pilly and one from New york as well. I dont know how that one will work for you. I still order the ticket anyways I aint missin a snap.

go cowboys!!!

Eric, Josh
I know its the offseason and people are a little antsy and up tight but you guys need to chill and take some meds, consume some booze, possibly a cigarette, or a hit from the bong, U know what ever is your flavor. who cares about speed ellis is an end and thats where he will play… But if he droped weight and got a little quicker… wait.. no hes a defensive end. Remember you cant teach an old dog new tricks and when you play out of your position bad things happen and i hate to bring up the raiders again but even Sapp switching to DE from his usual DT position was a diasaster. Again what looks good on paper isnt always good on the field. Ellis is best when his hand is on the ground, come on now why would you even think differently!

Amen geno. We’re a community of Dallas Cowboy fans. While its fun to tease sometimes, I defintely enjoy this site for its excellence without the nonsense.

FJ – I’m also away from Cowboys country. I found a bar not too far from my house (san francisco) where usually a handful of Cowboys show-up every sunday. I sticking to the bar for now (no nfl sunday ticket) because I like the atmosphere of having other cowboy fans around.

The real downside, though, is that non-local preseason games are not carried anywhere. So, we’re kind of blind until the season begins.

peace.

FJ………there is also a bus trip to FEDEX field leaving out of Va Beach and possibly Richmond. I plan on going. It is all inclusive bus and tickets. Should be fun, I think a few other folks from the blog, and plenty of other Cowboys fans are going……..probably a couple of deadskins fans too…….but hey they are more fun than picking on each other.

Eric.

 Actually, Gurode was drafted as a guard, not a center. He played both guard and center at colorado, was moved from center to guard ,his senior season at colorado.He wont be moving Johnson out of the center spot. Heâ€â"¢ll be battling tyson walter for the backup roll. Tyson walter might have the advantage since he can play all three line positions.
And remember, you said he made some mental mistakes at guard, well, how do you think he would manage at center when thats the position that makes all the line calls. He wont see anytime at center, because that position is going to be locked up for the next ten years by Johnson.

Josh,

All good, but Haggins NFL combine time was 5.04:http://www.footballsfuture.com/2000/combinestats.html. Even still with the time 4.95 40 time he is still slower than Ellis. So chew on that!!

Oh, by the way, Farrior is an ILB:http://www.steelers.com/team/player/. So get your facts straight before you go running off your mouth!! BOY!!!

Carioca,

I really don’t mean to offend anyone, but I will defend my point of view when someone attacks it. That is all I did, just defend my position. I wasn’t even talking to Josh and he made a comment about something I said … not once but twice. “you freaking deutshe bag” “lying sack of crap” “You are a moron to beat all morons” … were all comments posted by Josh, not me. I did call him out after he said “you lost all credability …. when you start talking about Ellis being quick” … I proved him wrong and wanted a response because he keeps changing the subject, then he got antsy.

Derrick,

Gurode won the starting center job his first year at training camp, but you are right, he played C and G at Colorado. He was drafted as a C/G though, and obviously started out on the Cowboys as a center. … Listen I doubt that he will move Johnson out too, but if he comes on (he was an outstanding blocker in college) regaining his form college form, then Parcells may be tempted to see what Johnson has to offer at G. If Parcells can get his best five blockers out there, he may just make the move. …

There is no way Johnson is going to be moved from the center spot to guard. As far as I’m concerned, he was the best center coming out, two years ago from wisconsin, even though cleveland took jeff faine from notre dame in the first round. Gurode played very well in Corlorado, but when he got to the pros he just continues to make the same stupid mistakes and hasn’t shown the improvement and thats why Rivera was brought in to take his spot. I think gurode will be hard pressed to make this club, period. Walter has the ability to play all three positions on the offensive line. Gurode better have a good offseason and better be ready to step up, because he already has one foot out the door.

Derrick,

I have stated a number of times that it will take a lot to move Johnson out from his C position. Johnson was, in my opinion too, the best C that year, and I am a ND fan to boot. Make no mistake about it though, Gurode was exceptional in college, anchoring an awesome offensive line at Colorado. So if somehow Parcells can make him focus, we may have another really good player on our line. My guess is that Parcells MIGHT believe that a move back to center may help Andre. If it does, then Johnson may be better at adopting a new position, and for all we know Parcells could have already asked Al, “I am going to TRY some new things with the line. Would you have any problem playing guard to see how you handle it?” … we will see!!

(off subject)
I was on thedallascowboys.net on my daily Cowboys info hunt and i was reminded about one of the most embarrasing moments in my life as a cowboys fan.. I think we all remember the dallas pittsburg game from this last year. But the part i forgot (I think i mentally blocked this experience out i was dramatized) was when you here steeler fans blocking out cowboy fans at texas stadium what was that all about? Just last month i patched holes in my wall from the Emmitt Release(punched the wall), and another hole from the quincy release(another punch), let me not forget the hole from the panther playoff loss(this was a thrown chair) thats 3 holes and i only regret the hole from the quincy. Im the kind of person who goes bonkers when dallas gets in the end zone. I remember waking up the day after when Emmit broke the rushing record and my throat hurting, I even think tears came to my eyes when dallas beat the eagles a couple years ago. I was wondering how, how at a dallas home game can the dallas fans be out cheered? Am I the only one like this? do I need help? I cant wait till opening day kickoff (:

By the way http://www.cowboysweblog.com/ go here and read this you will love it.

“So if somehow Parcells can make him focus, we may have another really good player on our line. My guess is that Parcells MIGHT believe that a move back to center may help Andre.”

Eric,
Well, if Gurode doesn’t get it by now, he never will. When you are the starting Right guard and you are replaced the last couple of games at the end of the year and then in the offseason you are moved to a backup role at the center position, the writing is on the wall. He makes the same mistakes every game and you think he’ll get it at center, well, I respectfully have to disagree with you on that.

Geno

I think you should worry about the anger issues you have. punching the wall over Quincy Carter, I was on my knees thanking god for finally getting rid of him.
As far as emmitt being cut, I didn’t care for it but I understood it was time to move on.
It didn’t bother me that we lost to the panthers, because that whole season was a mirage, we were not a 10-6 team. We got every break that season along the way and I actually predicted us being blownout for that Panther playoff game.

This season I predict that we will end up at about 8-8 or 9-7 at the most. We will have a rough start to the season with 3 of the first 4 games on the road because of the new and young inexperienced players and a new defensive scheme on defense.

Eric,

Personally I would not move Al off of the C position. Let him and the QBs get into a rythm. I ain’t ready to close the book on any of our lineman, Gurode, Rogers…….hey I think Pettiti might be NFL Tackle……but I would leave Al at Center. Let him be the center of the line, players get used to a C. His body motion his snap movements even how he is going to snap it when they cannot hear the snap count in a place like Arrowhead or Giants Stadium or wherever. You pick up on your C motions and you sort of fall into line with him. A consistent good C that the rest of the guys feed off of reduces PENALTYs and that is as important as blocking. After all 5 yards back is fiver yards back either by Sack, Tackle or penalty.

Now I think we might well see Parcells messing around with the line. Who knows maybe Allen at T…….let the next best lineman play G. Who knows, if Larry and Flozell and Rivera have the kind of year Parcells expects on em……..Al stays consistent we are going to be fine up front and remember Lineman……love running the ball more than running backs……even great ones like Emmit Smith……..you pick your man and blow a hole open like a torpedo makes in the side of some Jap Ship in WW2…….the watch as 21 goes by like greased lightning. Dropping back and keeping your QB from getting sacked is a lot harder……..pass blocking sucks for lineman even the good ones.

Our line will come together. I think the best 5 guys will be out there and how knows which one the 5th guy will be. That is what training camp and preseason is for…………just wich it would get here already!!!!!

Derrick,

That is cool.

As far as the benching thing, well come on, Parcells is old school. He use to pull Simms in and out, yelling at him to sit on the bench. Look at what he said about Terry Glenn. He was coaching long before it became wrong for a coach to bench a professional player for missing an assignment or making a stupid mistake. Trust me Parcells will make his point, old school style, West Point style … so I wouldn’t nessasarily take it as writing on the wall, but it will take a lot for Gurode to gain Parcells confidence. …. Before Parcells will even think about moving Johnson, Gurode will have to, as Parcells puts it “Show me!! Something” … but isn’t around that time of year? .. I mean if Gurode “shows” Parcells enough, a few days with Johnson at guard during training camp isn’t going to hurt. … like I said, there are a few “ifs”, but eventually we will see.

Quincy release was something that ended up working out for us in the end. But he had just enough mobility to make Parcells believe we could make it with a very questionable O line. Vinny on the other hand needs a line and time. Look with the nfc being so bad last year I think with Quincy we WOULD have made the playoffs last year. But the Emmitt thing was it was Emmitt why would he ever be in another uniform. I guess Emmitt in my mind was what I loved about dallas, Emmitt was an Under Dog, he was under sized, never took advantage of the spot light by show boating, And like the cowboys themselves will never get the respect he deserves from anyone outside the cowboys fateful.

Or you could take the view that B.P wants the guy gone but has to
play politics since this guy is a Jerry Jones pick(and a high one)
 a la A. Bryant,Q. Carter,W. Blade etc. so he is putting A.G.
into an impossible position so he can fail and be cut that
 much quicker!

Bill Parcells does not want players to FAIL………he wants them to succeed. He wants to win, and he will do whatever it takes to achieve that.

He not Jones chose Quincy over Hutch even though he knew of the drug abuse past. Jones already figued Q had one foot in the substance abuse grave, but BP said he gave him the best chance to win. Quincy is the one that chose to FAIL and use drugs. AG shows up and plays hard and makes his weight……..and works on his technique…….BP aint going to get rid of anybody that is working hard. I do not know if that is the case or not.

But he does not want anybody to Fail he wants them to succeed beyond their own expectations. Then the Gatorade showers can come crashing down in January!!!!

Boy for all these players Parcells puts in “impossible” situations he sure does win a lot … AFC Championship game with the Jets … Super Bowl with the Pats …. 2 Super Bowl rings with the Giants!! … He left New England and the Jets with a bunch of winners on both clubs respectively. So when he cuts a guy, I think he has given them their second and sometimes third shot. Bryant did whatever it is to Bryant. Not BP!! Blade and Quincy did it to themselves too!! As I remember, it was all of their second and third shots!! No one forced Quincy to do drugs! Blade was cut a number of times by many different coaches! Not Parcells fault the guy was out of shape! … Do you want a lithmus test? Compare the types of players and people who rave about the Tuna and follow him to his new teams (Richie Anderson, Curtis Martin, Brian Cox, even Vinny T, and Jumbo Elliot), and now look at the players he has cut (Ross, Gallaway, Bryant, and Blade)! … Enough said!!

Now with that said, I don’t see Andre Gurode in the same boat as the latter guys. Gurode is a player that gives his all, and that is exactly why I see Parcells trying to move him as a way to motivate him, because he has skill. The only way Andre gets cut is if he simply isn’t good enough.

Jon and eric,

I agree with both of you i was just playing devils advocate
and hit enter before i could finish my post.I like A.G. he
reminds me of kevin Mawae of the jets a big athletic guy
who can pull and lead on sweeps.

My two cents about moving Johnson to guard. I doubt if they will even try it in preseason. Here is why. Johnson is rather small to be at center. Most NFL centers are 10 or 12 pounds heavier. For this team, I believe he is far too small to play guard. Peterman is, I believe, about 315. Allen, in good shape, is about 335. Keep in mind, Bill likes large players like Petitti. Another thing, Johnson seems to be developing into something special at center. If it aint broken, don’t fix it.

One last thought. If Gurode can outshine Johnson in preseason, he will be the starter. It will, however, take quite a sensational effort for him to win Bill’s trust. Gurode will probably be backup center, or if one of the other guys does better, then the highway for him.

" If Gurode can outshine Johnson in preseason, he will be the starter"

Sorry tony, Thats not going to happen. Johnson will be the center for this club for years, while Gurode is on his way out. He is competing for a backup role only with Walter.With Rivera beside him, its only going to make Johnson an even better player.Gurode has had chance after chance and just keeps making the same stupid mistakes and he’s not a great pass blocker either.he’ll be hard pressed to even make this team.

Derrick,
The remainder of the quote is, “Gurode will probably be backup center, or if one of the other guys does better, then the highway for him.”

Eric:

If you don’t remember this, Gurode is entering his 4th year and in his 3rd (according to Parcells rookie law) he didn’t showed what Parcells needed to see out of him. He moved him to Center to place him on a familiar spotlight, yes, but because Parcells wants to see a dramatic change in his decision making in there, at Center you need to be more mistakes free than in every other position, with the exception of left tackle. I can bet that Parcells is going to put him through several tests, because there’s ability and talent, but you just can’t trust a player that has made the same mistakes for the last 2 years.

BTW, the other OLB of Pitt that Josh(?) mentioned, or tried to, was Kendrell Bell, now with Kansas. Injured himself in preseason last year and forced Haggans to start. Haggans was a DE coming out of college, which kinds of explains his slow forty time and why he was drafted in the 5th round, he was drafted to be a backup at OLB in the 3-4. He isn’t that slow anymore, though not as fast as Porter on the other side or as Boulware as another blogger said before….

And I was also glad to see Carter go, even while looking at last year and even while I saw a rather inmobile Testaverde. Because with the lack of a running game, and yes the running game was worst with George than when we had Hambrick, and the lack of capacity from Carter to throw to the middle of the field without sending a gift to a LB, S or CB, the Offense would have been much more predictable than what we had with Testaverde, at least Testaverde could throw the ball everywhere he wanted to….

I don’t know what you guys may think of this new idea of mine… I was just wondering, what if Parcells and all this move to the 3-4 is nothing more than motivational-psichology-sh***y methods stuff? Because, obviously both Glover and Ellis want to play in a 4-3 and start, so they would be happier playing that scheme. Ferguson has already said that he would also. And Spears, in between the lines, also said that. So in a nutshell, everyone on the most probable 4-3 starting alignment would be happier playing in the 4-3. Now Parcells has said that he’s going to play the 3-4 and the 4-3 in training camp, isn’t far-fetched, at least by me, that all those 4 guys would play with their hearts out in the 4-3 to prove that with the pressure those 4 would generate that the best alternative, at least for this year, would be a 4-3 main scheme.

I won’t be happy to see our 1st selection in the draft in the bench when the starters are on the field, but I guess that now Parcells doesn’t want anymore players on the field 90% (or more) of the snaps, so he would enter in 3-4 sets and the 4-3 in Ellis or Spears place and always facing the left tackle (Ellis would move to face the RT) to avoid double teams with a TE.

Seeing an alignment of Ellis/Ware, Ferguson, Glover and Spears/Ellis/Canty makes me wonder how much time an OLine could hold them? And with our supposedly upgraded DB’s corps that’s a dangerous combination….

Can’t wait for the start of Training Camp and for some of our questions to get answers….

about Al at LG, you all forget Peterman, who had great off-season workouts and mini camps. LA at RT makes the most sense, because Peterman won the RG spot befor his injurey. so the best 5 lineman would be AF, Peterman, Al Johnson,Rivera, LA or if vollers steps up at RT then LA stays at LG

about dline, i who think we really play 4-3 most of the time on 1down, but much more 3-4 in passing situations

if we go to nickle defense, just think about that pass rush, glover, spears and ellis later maybe canty as 3 down linemen, then you have ware, Nguyen and Burnett as LB and RW at SS. so one of these 4 will rush the QB, too!
which QB would like to see that kind of pass rush??

Chandus,

Parcells has benched his players before, only to return them to the field. Gurode has started for Parcells all but what, 4 games? Parcells could have been sending Gurode a message. … Gurode dominated in college, and has shown bursts on the pro level, only mental mistakes have really stopped him from finding his groove.

Has anyone heard that now Ellis isn’t the only one pissed off about this 3-4 move? Now, according to Cowboysplus.com, we might be about to have a problem with Glover.

I love this website, but today I couldn’t disagree any more with what was written above regarding Greg Ellis. Personally, I think Ellis is one of the best players on the team and I think both he and La’ Roi Glover have legitimate gripes about the potential change to a 3-4 defense. Right now the team would have a very powerful line in a 4-3 (Ellis, Glover, Fergeson, Spears) so why rock the boat by limiting the play of two of your best defensive lineman? Seriously, where would this defense be without Ellis and Glover? Yeah, we drafted Ware and Canty, but these guys are rookies and we don’t know about either one just yet. My vote would be to ease into the 3-4; you want your best players on the field as much as possible and I don’t know how Ellis and Glover wouldn’t be considered 2 of your best 11 players on defense. These players deserve respect and Parcells should give it to them. After all Glover made the Pro Bowl last year and Ellis has been the consumate team player ever since he has arrived while Bill Parcells only guided the team to 6 wins last year.

Steve,

Maybe we all should give Parcells some respect … I think he has earned it.

Ellis was great last year, but his numbers clearly show wear. He had 6 sacks after 7 games last year, but then only recorded 3 in the following 9 games. While Ellis had 9.0 sacks, but he recorded 7 of them in the first half of games, and his # of 2 sacks suggest that he was tired and less effective in the second half of games. Therefore his reduced roll is warranted.

Parcells has given Zimmer and the 4-3 two years to prove themselves effective, while Parcells is satisfied with Zim, his football knowledge tells him the 3-4 has had better results, and he is more comfortable with it. The Tuna has built a winner every stop on his way to Canton … sure the guy will make some mistakes but give him some slack. Let’s just see how this all works out!

Laroi Glover made a visit to the ProBowl in a 3-4 playing NT.

Perhaps he prefers the 4 man front, like any Defensive Lineman would. In fact ask a WR if they prefer a 3, 4 or 5 wideout formation and they are all going to nod their heads YES……..especially the 3rd, 4th, and 5th guys in line at WR. You think the Fullback prefers a two back set, or three or a single back?

Hey guess what Corners prefer the nickel. Cuz it means 3 of em are on the field. I mean look at old Deion joining the Ravens just to play the nickel.

This is competitive sports at the highest level of competition. If Ellis and Glover did not want to be on the field competing, they never would have made the types of great plays they have over the years.

This is the quiet July period and their ain’t so much as a whisper of new news on the Dallas Cowboys. So a few mediots at the Ranch Report and Dallas News are doing what they have always done. Thing it is just coincdence that Skippys boys column on ESPN appears a few weeks before Training Camp when unless some rookie, or veteran shows up with lines of cocain and a few strippers there just ain’t nothing to write about. Here is to hoping it stays that way until Rafael gets to Oxnard.

When the real 16 game season starts Glover and Ellis are going to get plenty of snaps. Hopefully plenty of rest too, and both will increase their production the 4th Quarter when we flopped in so many of our games last year. Largely due to the time they had to spend on the field as well. Rookies will make plays too, and plenty of rookie mistakes. Zimmer and Big Bill are going to hammer out the best defense to stop the opposing offense………or confuse them………or a lil of both………and the 4-3 and the 3-4 and various forms of nickel packages wil all be used. Hey Greg Ellis is going to play some DE in a 3 man front. That is going to happen and he is going to do ok with it.

The real test is not now in the blogosphere……..or even in Training Camp……….the real test will be 8 games into the season and what kind of record we have and how we are looking in the NFC East. Is our Stud Julius Jones a league leading Running Back that we all hope. Is Bledsoe got more gas than Vinny? Is he distributing the ball well and not forcing it? Have KJ and TG stayed healthy enough to help Witten and Bledsoe? Has the defense learned its way. Are T-New and Henry and Glenn earning their money in the secondary? Sure hope so. That is just as critical as our new pass rush……….the two go hand in hand. Did we resolve the final position on our offensive line. How is our special teams and kicking game coming along. You know a few of these come along at or above expectations, and this team is going to be tough.

I think in some ways we are behind the curve for excellence by Parcells due to him standing pat after our 10 win season that first year. However, I also think that this team has a really good mix of vets, rookies, and FAs that if healthy can give anybody in the NFL including the Pats and the Eagles a tough football game. Ball control rushing attacks and stingy defenses are the stuff of Super Bowl victories and long winning records in the NFL. Defense wins Super Bowls, it always has………it always will……..and Bill knows that better than anybody. He will field the best defense available to get the job done. It ain’t like Ferguson, Glover, Ellis, Ware, and Spears don’t know how to line up and in a 4 man front……..they do and they will.

Also, remember what Bill Parcells told Mike Wallace on 60 minutes. Perhaps not word for word here but pretty much as I remember it.

Do you ever argue with players?

Yeah

Fight even, Wallace asked

Oh yeah, it get’s pretty heated. Especially with the good ones. You know that is just the nature of football and competitive atheletes. BP Says.

Now are we really worried about Ellis and Glover? I do not see either one of them throwing jerseys at the coach yet. I got a feeling those conversations in Parcells office were meant to stay there. Too bad it didn’t.

Just wondering for a few of you guys to answer these predictions with training camp coming up:

Will Kevin Burnett or Al Singelton start at OLB in Week 1?

Who will win the FB competition?

In Week 1, our starting RT will be:

In Week 1, our starting FS will be:

DeMarcus Ware will have __ sacks in his rookie year.

Will Jason Witten surpass 1000 yards?

whew!….well said Jon. I think its important to emphasize that we are not going 3-4 all the time. We should still see the 4-3 a good amount. Hopefully, we’ll be able to switch back and forth easily. Thats one of the big pluses for the Pats defense. We’ll probably see a lot of the 4-3 against rushing teams(or rushing downs) and a lot of the 3-4 against passing teams, or passing downs(i.e. eagles). Ellis and Glover are going to get their plays and they will look good. If they get let go in the future it will be b/c of salary cap issues.(i’ve read this applies mostly to glover)

i’ll take a stab at it lou
-for week one, it will be singleton but it won’t take long before burnett wins it
-Barnes will be FB. I know he is good on special teams which will help
-RT Vollers
-Davis…BP will concede that he deserves it
-Ware will have 11 sacks(sacks will be evenly distributed for the most part)
-JW will not get 1,000 unless Glenn gets hurt again. Our running attack is better and our receivers will be better if they are healthy.

Ok, I’ll play.

OLB——Burnett or Singleton, neither, Shanle
FB——-Polite
RT——-Kurt Vollers
FS——Reese to start season
Demarcus Ware—7 sacks, situational third down pass rusher in the 4-3.
Jason Witten 1000 yrds—-NO way. With a good running game and a healthy core of recievers, means a Balanced offensive attack. Bill wants a 50/50 split between run/pass.

Derrick,

I thought Shanle was battling James for the other ILB spot or are you thinking 4-3?

whitten might hit 1,000 yds. i read a article on him and i remembered he did play some fulback last year and stayed in on passing downs to block. i wonder how many opportunities he missed out on because of that. plus bledsoe loves his tight ends ask ben coates. i think hell be close to where he was last year if he doesnt get 1,000 then hell be flirting with it

I have to agree with Steve. I think we should ease into the 4-3, which is what I ecpect us to do, but more rapidly than either of these guys would like. We had 2 years to prove we could play the 4-3, and we were the #1 defense in the league in one of those years. We were decimated by injuries in the second year. I’m not convinced at all that we can’t be just as effective, if not more, in the 4-3.

I recognize the advantages of the 3-4, but we haven’t played a down yet, and look at all the fallout from it. Personally, it would take extra effort for me to care less about which alignment we use, as long as we win with it, but I do care about the players we have on this team, and even though the mediots are reporting on anything they hear, they’re obviously hearing this stuff from somewhere, so I think Parcells should look at what’s best for this team instead of what’s best for him.

Eric said that Parcells has earned respect. No asrgument here. The man has my respect, however, I refuse to believe that every decision he makes is the right one. New flash folks, Parcells is human, like the rest of us, which means he makes mistakes, like the rest of us. I hope this thing works out for us, or some of you will finally be forced to accept that.

Sorry, I meant ease into the 3-4.

Well, mike, Ben Coates only surpassed the 1000 yards mark once in his career, that being in 1994, when NE didn’t had a legitimate running attack nor the best receiving duo. I guess that Witten will surpass the 800 yards mark but won’t reach the 900.

OLB…….hmmm………Derrick could be onto something…….but I say the Rookie recovers and shows something……..reading his numbers at Tenn he was a haus……….Burnett. Singleton has been pretty solid but I kind of see him as a utility guy……..BP wants to get these young guys out there.

FB…..Barnes is the favorite, but Polite has done everything BP has asked in the offseason program. If Polite can show a little pass cathcing and Special teams duty……..he makes the team. Youth movement again has a slight edge on Barnes.

RT—Larry Allen…..Hey why not……Vollers is probably the leading candidate among others……..but there could be a sleeper in Pettiti…….Parcells new hopeful late rounder. Another possibility…….move Adams let Pettiti play LT…….Rogers might get into the mix somehow if he gets healthy.

FS—Keith Davis……..you don’t comare a kid to Lester Hayes and then leave him to play special teams only. Keith Davis has a way of finding the ball, Aaron Glenn immediately said this kid has potential……..Reese is insurance….along with the other well spent money in the secondary……and Parcells won’t name Davis as the Starter til he sees him in preseason…….and the kid stays out of strip clubs……..you don’t want him getting cocky………The YOUTH movement will continue as Davis wins it out.

Demarcus Ware……..will be given a green light to get in the backfield and disrupt the play every time he is on the field. I think he is the athelete BP thinks……..he has freakish strength for his size…….he can bench what Spears does and is 50lbs lighter!!!! This kid is the real deal. He gets 10 the first year, at OLB and as a pass rushing DE………..for the first time since Haley roamed the Ranch the Cowboys has a legitimate threat from the Edge…..a comination of speed and power. Greg Ellis benefits and improves on his 9 to lead the Cowboys in sacks with the help from Spears, Canty, Glover, Ferg, and less plays…….he goes double digits for the first time in his career. Ware will improve the 2nd Half of the season, and just when other rookies fade due to conditioning his own will help him once he learns a few tricks of the trade in the NFL. I look for him to have immediate impact and improve every single week. Again….Zimmer is going to have a GREEN light to blitz with Glenn, Henry, Newman, Roy and our FS expected to earn their money back there.

Witten-DEFINITELY……..this is the one no brainer out of all these. Coates from Bledsoe? This is the kid that is going to make Bledsoe look a lot better than he has in a long time. Another kid 21, named Jones is going to help too. But hey, the play action pass with KJ, TG, Jones and Witten on the field………this kid might lead recieving again……..plus Dan Campbell is back……Witten can play the pass catching TE that Parcells envisions……and has produced in Bavaro, Coates and others. Reading KCs analysis you really got the impression this guy is our best WR, not just the best TE…….although he is lining up at TE. If healthy over 1000 for sure. Hopefully a healthy Glenn and KJ get similar numbers and we have 3 threats. I mean KJ was right there last year, and Glenn was great til injury. Funny we started the season with Witten, Glenn, Johnson and Bryant and media saying we have a great triple threat……..and then we end with hopalong KJ and Witten leading.

For sure Witten, 1000!!!! maybe 1200. 80 yards per game 4, 5, or 6 catches…….that is 1280.

Yes, Rob2, I think that too.

I guess that a lot of people forgets one of the most important things we lost in Parcells second year, apart from Woodson, and that being Willie Blade, I know that once again I’ll take some heat because there’s a lot of people that doesn’t put much value on someone that can really plug the middle freeing guys behind him. Let’s remember some of 2003…. do you remember how many tackles for losses the trio of Nguyen, Woodson and Roy made? Dat by himself made 9, defended 11 passes and had 2 sacks and Roy Williams had 6 tackles for losses…

Now, there’s a definitely upgrade with Ferguson in the middle who had taken double teams until Dewayne Robertson started playing at a real good level last year and still managed to get double teams a little less than half the plays, now a discussion of who’s better between Glover and Robertson might be a narrow race, but Glover has always faced two teams and last year had a better sack number, so Glover might be better.

What I’m saying is that with all the unanswered questions in the move to the 3-4, how is the line is going to hold with at least an undersized player in there? Who the other OLB is going to be (I don’t see another Ware in the staff)? Can Ware really adapt to the OLB without being a coverage liability? And can we really trust an untested LB corps figuring names like Shanle, James and Burnett, considering that at least one of them will have a starting role?, maybe the best answer is to play something close to 60% of the snaps in a 4-3 that looks much much better, in the paper, than what we had last year and the rest in nickel packages with 3-4s and 3-3s sets.

Alot of people seem to be overlooking Shanle, I wouldn’t if I were you. Remember, he played the last four games last year in place of Singleton, who was out with an abdominal injury. Shanle lead the team in tackles the last four games of the season. So, he is more tested than one might think.
I really cant see Bill starting all three draft picks( Ware,Spears,Burnett) from this year from the get go,since bill has a history of playing verterans over rookies. It takes alot to get his trust, especially with three of the first four games on the road, but By week eight, if they show something and are progressing by the middle of the season, they will have substantially playing time.

I mentioned that you could be on to something. Parcells seemed to like what he saw out of Shanle and he could push for a spot in the lineup. Thornton and James are two guys that need to continue to improve also. I figure this is it for James…….time to fish or cut bait!!!

He is going to play the best players available. Also for all those missing Coakley, and his coverage ability……..Burnett may well be that guy he started as a Safety. He might be the 3rd Down option at the OLB.

Ware……..is going to be bringing the HEAT to the QB……..GREEN LIGHT……..get to the passer………get in the backfield……..don’t let a reverse or outside run get by you. But get the QB and get him often. That is what the number 11 pick was drafted for and that is what he will be expected to do. I don’t think we got a veteran on the team with his size and speed and pass rushing from the edge ability…..so he is gonna be on the field a lot. I mean if this kid is the LT character that BP thinks he is………we want some sacks and tackles for loss……..let the Secondary cover. Well except for the occassinal Roy Williams Blitz!!!

Jon
 You are right about James, its a make or break year for him. He has to stop making the same mistakes, freelances far too much when on the field. I like thorton from what the little I’ve seen as an edge pass rusher. I thought I heard somewhere that he bulked up and put on some weight this offseason.
The only knock on Burnett coming out of Tennesee was he spends to much time looking into the backfield, which I’m sure thats going to be corrected, good speed and hits like a truck,ala Roy Williams.

With Ware, he’s still alittle raw, but put him, in the situation of a pass rush defensive end in the 4-3 on second, third and long, pin his ears back and wait for the green light. I look to see him for 25-30 plays a game to start.

Alot of talk about moving to the 3-4 ,but with the players we have now, I think were better suited for the 4-3 more than the 3-4 right now.
Spears—-ferguson—-Glover—-Ellis, thats scary

Geno,
Very good point on all of us chilling out. It is the silly season for football fans and a little Jim Beam or good “bud” wouldn’t hurt any of us right now (not a serious suggestion, for enrtertainment purposes only LOL!)!

Becker and Chandus,
Are you getting my point? I will never argue with BP ‘s ability to do the following:
1. Come up with a game plan.
2. Motivate players to win a game.
3. Evaluate player talent.
4.Put a player in the doghouse because he isn’t performing football-wise or won’t work hard.
5.Put the best guys on the field that he can to give the team a chance to win.

But he is human isn’t he? He doesn’t always make decisions based soley on a players game performance or talent does he? To quote Aaron Glenn, one of these players that returns to play for BP that everyone likes to crow about; “(Parcells) will run a guy out of a situation”. (dallascowboys.com article 1-2 days after his signing)

BP will run a guy off (Hunter, deserved; Ellis and Glover, not deserved) because the guy won’t kiss his butt. He will put a guy into a situation in which he will fail (Gurode, deserved; Wiley, not deserved), so that he will look innocent when the time comes to pull the trigger.

Don’t get me wrong, I want to win a SB as much as Parcells does, I AM GLAD HE IS HERE! I just worry that he is pushing too much, too soon, and too hard; producing too many unnecessary and undeserved casualties.

James:

About Wiley, Parcells saw that he had to strong side DE’s (Wiley and Ellis) and he played at that position the better prepared in his defensive schemes moving the other to the other spot. I really don’t believe that you would have liked to see an undersized player like Ogbogu over there all day, right? Parcells needed to do what he did. But he sould had signed Bertrant Berry….

And Parcells isn’t running anyone out of Dallas (Ellis and Glover), as I said earlier we might see more 4-3 than what we thought from scratch. And I can expect that less time on the field will be beneficial for both of them, because that way they might finish the season in a better shape than what we have seen in the last 2 years (playoff game against Carolina, the D just crumbled).

1. Ellis
2. Glover
3. R. Williams
4. Ferguson
5. Spears
6. Ware
7. T’New
8. Henry
9. Canty
10. Burnett
11. K. Davis

Gentlement, that is just a potential starting defense. Others may throw in different names and different rotations. You don’t think this defense won’t keep DCs up at night trying to game plan against these guys. BP is human, however, so are the other coaches around the league.

I would like for someone to come up with a possible starting offensive rotation.

Darrell,

I like it but, I see canty being put on the pup list for the first 6 weeks of the season. With the eye injury and major knee injury where he had all three ligaments torn, its alot to ask this guy to be ready to start the season. I think they are going to go slow with this guy, dont want anymore set backs. I had a serious eye injury that required surgery and believe me it doesn’t take much to break blood vessels or scar tissue in the eye because of the blood pressure in the eye. This guy could be the steal of the draft if things work out.

Ok I’ll try this again. Each team plays on average 60-70 plays per game on defense. For arguements sake lets say Dallas averages 64 plays per game. Parcells wants Glover and Ellis in around 70-75% of the defensive snaps. That is roughly 45-48 plays, so again for arguements sake lets say they each play 46 plays a game. Now lets just say the split between the two sets are 50-50 (32 snaps in each set). I don’t think there will be a big arguement if Ellis and Glover play all 32 snaps in the 4-3. So that is 32 of the ‘fore said 46. Meaning that Ellis and Glover will play around 14 snaps each game in the 3-4. I don’t think that there will be much of an arguement that Glover be the NT on passing situations out of that set, especially since Parcells said that himself. Now that leaves us with Ellis, and getting him in for about 14 more plays. Why would it be so hard to believe that Ellis would be best suited to play 10-15 snaps per game at OLB in the 3-4. First of all, he DOES indeed have the speed to play there, as he is faster than Pittsburgh’s starting OLB, and most likely faster than Carl Banks, who played that spot for the Giants in the 80s. Traditionally the starting strong side OLB in the 3-4 has good speed and great size, and the weak side guy (Taylor, McGinest, Ware) has the great speed. Name one situation were both OLB were speed guys! But anyway … if I were forced to play the 3-4 today, with the guys on this team Spears, Ferguson, Glover, Ware, and ELLIS would be starting for me, probably Dat and Singleton too. What a nice mix of size and speed!!

Derrick I agree,I had almost the same injury to my eye,at a bar,got into a big brawl,and got smashed in the eye with a beer bottle,scratched the eye and broke the eye socket….it takes several operations to recover and let scar tissue heal in between each operation(month or two at least for each one) then you have blurred and double vision issues that have to be addressed….but it can be fixed,just takes time……

James,
You friends with Mr.Beam(a personal favorite), and you might also be right with BP being a human, but this is what he does motivates his players by getting on there “bad side”. I think you forgot Larry Allen on his list of people who deserved scrutiny. Look allen has the heart of a champ and took BP to get that out of him. Larry when BP showed up in dallas was in horrible shape and he was vocal and just pissed him off he threw him in the dog house questioned his integrity and just made the guy feel like a complete piece of crap. What did larry do???? Like a true champ just chipped away, improved his game,leadership, and body, and proly extended his career. Another guy Spears remember the chubby checkers and fat dominos remarks. Then this guy shows up a month later at the weight!!! Surprise surprise. BP knows what kind of player works in the nfl. U know the guy who is a team player, will find that extra bit of something when beat down, will never just fold under the pressure or give up and just really tough mentally. BP knows how to figure out if this is the type of player he has its worked for him time and time again. Anyways how many people have not been parcelles guys and are known as champs. I bet the numbers are in BP favor greatly. BP knows how to motivate greatness and if these spats are true its gona be even more scary then I thought for opossing QBs

And on a serious note while sittin back and chillin with your buds Mary Jane, Jimmy Beam, and, Sam Adams may be “cool” or “fun” at times. It is not cool to mix them with writing news articles(or driving) because this is obvious that these journalists are in a cloud of smoke when writing this trash!!! That journalist friend of a friend was nothing more then his pal Hallucination.

James,

One thing that I’d like to say about your theory is that I’d like to compare football to two things. One a business and second the military. The reason I mention this is because metaphorically they all three work well when they are run a certain way. This is where your psychology comes in. There has to be accountability, someone in charge of all operations, and if you’ve ever been a manager in a business or in the armed forces you will know this- that your superior does not take BS. This engenders trust. You can’t have one of your sub-ordinates dictating how things should go. When you go to war, you have to believe in someone who does not falter and will lead no matter what discention that there is or could be against him. There are important reasons for this. Your superior will sometimes have favorites, not to say I like brown-nosing at all. Everyone (even in business and the military) has different managing styles, but the successful ones have many things in common. Authority, confidence, will not tolorate disobedience, friendly to people who “get their way of doing things” (which could be interpreted as “brown-nosing” and a common sense of doing what is right for the best of the team. Let’s have a beer or two, wait a month or two and then see if this is still being talk about, eh?

Heath Shuler is running for Congress as a Democrat from North Carolina.

No word yet on whether the Republican Party will try to recruit Ryan Leaf or not.

Oh that ain’t a Congressional Race, it is Sports Debate among fans………WHO IS THE BIGGEST BUST EVER AT QB IN THE NFL?

Mikee,
The NFL is NOT the military. Playing favorites won’t fly in combat. You speak with book knowledge. Indeed, the psychology of the military has a place IN THE MILITARY. As far as I know, Parcells has NOT spent 1 day in uniform. Therefore he is a wannabe! He should be what he is: a great FOOTBALL coach. Not a “master psychologist” or a wannabe Patton. It is insulting to pros and grown men that some pretender for the role wants to be their father, priest, friend, counselor etc.

Jon,
The biggest bust at quarterback……..that would be Hilary..er..Bill Clinton!

James:

But being that has worked in the past for him, and also for Bellichik and Coughlin, they all have the same style, and look at them, they are pretty good at what they do.

Darrell W:
I’m taking your challenge, but I’ll just not put my Offensive alignment, I’ll put both, and let’s see what you guys think….

Offense:
WR – Keyshawn Johnson – Quincy Morgan
TE – Jason Witten – Jeff Robinson
LOT – Flozell Adams – Jacob Rogers
LG – Larry Allen – Stephen Peterman
C – Al Johnson – Andre Gurode
RG – Marco Rivera – Andre Gurode
ROT – Kurt Vollers – Larry Allen
QB – Drew Bledsoe – Drew Henson
RB – JuiceJ – Marion Barber
TE – Dan Campbell – Sean Ryan
WR – Terry Glenn – Patrick Crayton

Defense:
(4-3)
LDE – Greg Ellis – Demarcus Ware
DT – Jason Ferguson – Leo Carson
DT – La’Roi Glover – Leo Carson
RDE – Marcus Spears – Eric Ogbogu
OLB – Bradie James – Kevin Burnett
MLB – Dat Nguyen – Scott Shanle
OLB – Al Singleton – Scott Shanle
LCB – Terence Newman – Aaron Glenn
RCB – Anthony Henry – Lance Frazier
SS – Roy Williams – Justin Beriault
FS – Keith Davis – Izell Reese

(3-4)
LDE – Greg Ellis – Leo Carson
NT – Jason Ferguson – La’Roi Glover
RDE – Marcus Spears – La’Roi Glover
OLB – Demarcus Ware – Kalen Thornton
MLB – Dat Nguyen – Bradie James
MLB – Scott Shanle – Bradie James
OLB – Kevin Burnett – Eric Ogbogu
LCB – Terence Newman – Aaron Glenn
RCB – Anthony Henry – Lance Frazier
SS – Roy Williams – Justin Beriault
FS – Keith Davis – Izell Reese

Obviously someone will scream that Canty isn’t there…. well, those are the alignments I think we’ll see on the field by season opening, Canty shall go to PUP, the guy hasn’t make any strenous activity since his last retina operation, what does that mean? He isn’t in football shape…. nor training camp shape…. so won’t be capable of showing much in training camp, other than the rest of the team is in much better condition than him….

James, at least try and control your hatred of BP. It comes out so clearly that anything you post is ignored as being irrational.
BP will be in the HOF- will you?

I think James has a good point! Sure he is down on BP but he has good reason.

BP did a poor job of coaching last year. It started with the Giants game. BP’s clock management and decision to go for it on 4th and short when they held the lead, resulted in the Giants victory. There were several other situations that I fail to remember the specifics of, that hurt the Boys. But I do recall feeling miffed as to why Bill made some of the calls that he made.

BP was not on his best last year. However, to BP’s credit, he appears to have righted the ship this year. He was much more proactive in the draft and he appears to be on top of his game. He was softer on players last year and this year he seems to be more involved. I think it was a down year last year but what is important is he will learn from his mistakes and do a better job this year. So far, so good.

Cowboy’s will be 10-6 this year. 12-4 next year when Drew II starts. 13-3 the following year and a record 6th superbowl.

James,

I think the Tuna went to West Point. Parcells is a strict diciplinarian, but like I said, look at the results he gets. … I am not talking Super Bowl rings either. Curtis Martin, Richie Anderson, Drew Bledsoe, …. a host of his players and ex-players are class acts and have great leadership qualities, not only as football players but they apply these things in their everyday lives. In the NFL just as in life, there are people who aren’t ready to, or just won’t take to structue … llisten and follow rules and listen and follow advice … just doesn’t work for everybody. These guys, Parcells gives a few chances, and then just gives up on them.

With strict dicipline, there is a very fine line, and it sometimes gets crossed. No doubt about that. … Take for example Julius Jones last year. It is my thought that he was injured a few plays before he left the game last year versus Cleveland, but Parcells’ pressure got him to go back out there and possibly he injured himself even more. The psychology of this situation can be very bad, for Parcells and Julius, but also the entire team could start second guessing the coach. But it is for Parcells to mend his relationship with Julius, and rebuild his trust with the team. Yet, if Bill didn’t push his players, then he would fail as an NFL coach, but James I think the thing you fail to realize is that the players appreciate Parcells’ pressure. I am quite sure last year wasn’t the first time Parcells may have crossed the line, and I assure you that when the line is crossed Parcells has a huge job in front of him resurecting his players’ trust, but it goes to past decisions, past experiences, and I think most of the players understand that he cares about them, and he pushes them to be better football players cause that is what they ask from him. Part of building up character and trust has to do with admitting that he made a mistake, and I know for a fact that Parcells has publicly admitted to “not having a good game plan”, you know taking responcibility for his actions. And we could all see Parcells chew out a player for a fumble that wasn’t his fault, but none of us are ever there when Parcells puts his arm around the guy and appologizes to the player. .. But just from the loyalty and love his players show for him … I believe that Parcells has had a plenty heart to hearts with his guys , plenty of times were he was too hard, only to rebuild that relationship…. just look at their appreciation of the guy and you can see that. If he was a tough SOB all of the time and never put his arm around a player, never had a heart to heart with his players with a deep appreciation for his players’ efforts, and never took responcibility for when things went bad at his hand … then he wouldn’t have players and ex-players raving about how great of a coach he is.

Eric:

Stop wasting your time with James, he seems to be the only Cowboys fan happy with Switzer at the time….

Anyone happy with Switzer is NOT a true Cowboy fan.
He probably thought Campo was good, too.
ANd then he has the nerve to criticise BP?
Hubris.

Way off topic! Can you beleive this….someone offered to trade me Kliensauser for my TE Jason Witten on my fantasy league…lol…straight up too!! Geez…..

eric,
I think Julius stayed out on the field because he was afraid of BP not BP made him stay out there. I think i remember reading that. I might be wrong but I was watchin the espy’s the other night and saw a Under Armor commercal and I think Julius was in it. Did any one else see it?

How good did it feel to see the triplets inducted, huh? The good ol days…

After every game home and away. On the plane back to the ranch.

“Jerry that sure was great, man I love watching the game from the sidelines. It is almost like I am coaching again! Stewardess get me another one sweetie, straight up this time no mixer!!!” Barry Switzer says while raising his empty glass.

“Glad you enjoyed it Barry!” Jerry says while reading the list of current coaches, coordinators, while regretting his comment over cocktails that anybody could coach the Cowboys. Then having to prove that he was right, there was so much talent on the team, anyone could coach and win a Super Bowl…….because that is what Switzer was…….anybody!!!!

Chandus and Burmafrd,
Hubris? Yes that does describe BP and those that would follow him blindly like you two who claim to ignore me but respond to my posts.
Hatred? Switzer? CAMPO! Not a true ‘Boys fan? I guess I just don’t meet with your approval. Too bad for you! Darn me for not asking your permission to post here.
Irrational? I back my assertions with reason, you two act like liberals who can’t argue their position logically so they resort to insults and denigration.

Again, Burmafrd, what experience do YOU have in professional football. And realistically, I don’t think any that any of us that post here will ever be enshrined in Canton.

oooooooh james just got a little political on both your a$$e$ LOL

Geno,
Thanks, finally someone with a sense of humor.

Kevin,
Thanks for seeing my arguments as more than Tuna hating diatribe. Last year he did make some decisions that left me and many others mystified. He’s a great coach, but not a saint. We’ll see what happens this year.

Eric Richard,
BP was an assistant coach at USMA. To the best of my knowledge he has never served in a uniformed capacity. If he has I will stand corrected. The military’s “tear ’em down to build ’em back up” psychological practices are appropriate IN THE MILITARY AND IN THE MILITARY ONLY because of the services’ unique and critical mission. As a veteran I accepted that management style as part of the job. Like many other vets though, we have no use for it on the outside. So it does get on our nerves when someone who has not been subject to it themselves is lauded as a hero for using the same system.

Oh, and before certain wisebutts chime in, I WAS honorably discharged and decorated.

James,

Your welcome.

The rest of the bunch,

Man can’t we chill just a little. You are like the tribe of Israel. When there are no enemies, you all turn on each other. As soon as the season starts, we’ll all be sticking up for each other and getting along just fine.

It is OK to disagree with each other and it doesn’t mean that we have to criticize each other. Of course, if it means that you stop criticizing your wife then I am all for criticizing each other in our chat. :-)

Let’s be kind to each other and have fun trashing the NFC East.

Kevin,
I second that motion. Disagreeing doesn’t mean you HAVE to hate one another. Besides:

The Filthydelphia Chickens
The Washtin Foreskins (schmucks)
The Rotten Apple Midgets

We could all get A LOT of mileage out of them! LOL!

Chandus, excellent job. I see you did your homework. You sure you and BP are not coordinating your line ups. I like it. It’s a pleasure reading your blog entries because you stay on point. It’s going to be great having Rafeal at Oxnard, CA. Keep up the great work.

On to a different subject: JJ has announced that the triplets will be enshrined in the DC HOF. Great job and awesome move. I hope this move wasn’t made because Canty has been snubing DC players. Anyway, great move on the part of JJ.

James,

I think people act angered or act as if there is hate, only because you don’t respond to the actual arguement. Just answer the questions posed to you, and actually open your ears and hear their arguements, instead of just CHANTING Bill Parcells retoric and political retoric!! For example, answer this specific question:

If what you say is true, then why do class acts (like Cutris Martin, Drew Bledsoe, Richie Anderson, etc.) talk so highly of the man?

Parcells coached at West Point and the US Air Force Academy. James you say,“The militaryâ€â"¢s â€Å"tear ‘em down to build ‘em back up” psychological practices are appropriate IN THE MILITARY AND IN THE MILITARY ONLY because of the servicesâ€â"¢ unique and critical mission. As a veteran I accepted that …” … but is really about that? Look at what Parcells has said about Keyshawn … “he is a good listener, and always wants more knowledge”. You make the guy to be a dictator, but in fact he is more of a teacher. Like it or not, a great teacher will see a kid, whose eyes light up when they talk, and another who has no interest … and a great teacher will give the latter boy a chance and a second or third chance, and then give up on him, and take the ’fore mentioned boy under his wing to teach him all that he can. If you think this is playing favorites, you are well off. Here are some more specific questions you can ponder:

Parcells gave Willie Blade a second chance when no one else would … who failed who? Parcells gave Quincy Carter every opportunity to be the starting QB for the Cowboys … who failed who?

Your logic James has NO MERIT!! Parcells has been fair to his players, and has helped them to be exactly what they want .. in some cases better football players and in other cases better human beings. … Maybe someday Quincy Carter will appreciate being cut … because the message there is clear “We will not tolerate that stuff.” and if Carter wants to be a better person he would accept that corrective critisism, and learn from it.

Eric Richard,
Good example about Richie Anderson. One of your “guys who keep coming back to BP” as you say. In Richie’s case, BP was loyal to him, was going to reward Richie for paying attention to his teaching; taking him “under his wing” so to speak. Richie would have had a assistant coaching spot waiting for him according to rumor control. So, where is Richie now? Off the Cowboys.

Rather than getting surgery right after the season was over, Richie waited until March, remember. That decision made it impossible for him to be ready for camp. Where was Richie’s dedication? What made him falter? I see Richie as the antithesis of these guys (Cox, Bledsoe, Glenn, etc.) that everyones adulates for returning to the master. In fact, these are the guys that will tell you BP’s true nature; good and bad.
This has been my point all along, THAT PARCELL’S IS NOT PERFECT! He has made mistakes, and is making them now with his indispensable, for this year at least, veterans. (Ellis, Glover) I have never danced around the argument as you claim. If you want to be angry at me, be so for my ability to read between the lines of and see the deeper meaning of the Parcells mystique. There is no hate and I do see his genius as a coach. I just call a spade a spade when the situation calls for it. If that removes tint from rose colored glasses and tees people off, so be it. I am done with this. The recalcitrance and bullheadedness of certain individuals has begun to bore me.

James,

Please keep your political policies off this blog, it strays from the topic and is shouldn’t be tolerated. Go place your political beliefs on a right wing blog, not here.

Funny you guys are arguing about the military metaphor to football that I proposed earlier. I think you missed my point which I will say again. Not that it will help though. People want and need discipline and organization and some people need it more than others and this includes children, workers and players of sports. I have included the meaning of discipline from Websters Dictionary so you can better understand my point.

Discipline

1.Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.

2.Controlled behavior resulting from disciplinary training; self-control.

3.Control obtained by enforcing compliance or order.
a.A systematic method to obtain obedience: a military discipline.
b.A state of order based on submission to rules and authority: a teacher who demanded discipline in the classroom.
c.Punishment intended to correct or train.
 
BP is not as you say a tear em down build em back up kind of guy. He is a disciplinarian. Football players need a coach to lead and get the most performance and production out of every person on and off the field. That is the comparison I was trying to convey. That was the problem with Switzer and Campo. Most NFL players have egos the size of the field itself. For some it’s hard for them to see anything else but themselves, look at T.O. for the birds. From what I have read so far from you I’m not going to try to say anything else more to influence your thoughts towards BP. It’s pointless. When the Cowboys are winning you may still have your negative feelings about him but you’ll have to wonder, won’t you?

you are right, Parcells makes mistakes. God forbid that he might be a human being. Lets leave him alone .. heck come on camp. We need a new topic soon..

Mikee,

Right on .. “he is a disciplinarian”.

Great point here too, “People want and need discipline and organization and some people need it more than others and this includes children, workers and players of sports.” Goes right along with my point, the people who accept structure and guidance through means of dicipline often appreciate the person who took the time to teach them a better way .. ala Parcells and his players. Look at what Parcells did with Keith Davis … he cut him. Parcells made it very clear, “we can not afford and will not tolerate players going to night clubs and associating with bad company!!” It is this type of structure that makes men out of boys.

James,

Richie Anderson signed with Dallas as a free (meaning capable of signing with whomever he wants) agent. So once again … NO MERIT to your ranting.

Answer the question:

If Parcells is a “self-styled psychologist who uses manipulation to motivate …. dishonest coercion of an individual through mental and emotional means.”, then why do players follow him from team to team?

Another one of your quotes, “TunaMan does treat players differently based on whether or not they are one of his â€Å"guys”, regardless of their performance.” Now there are coaches like this, and you know what .. they fail, they loose, and they loose the respect of their players. If Parcells ever did this … he knows damn well that the players on his team would loose their loyalty and trust in what he is trying to show them. Parcells preaches “show me!!” .. as in I don’t care what you have done in the past, or if you are nursing an injury and are still hungry to play, I will play the player who will do the best job. … James, he has shown this tendancy time and time again throughout his career. He plays the best player!! Whether it be his very first “guy”, who wanted to QB the Giants to their second SB victory, or a player making a whole lot of money and a fixture on an orginization, like Larry Allen, but takes for granted that he needs to earn a spot on the team … they can sit. Parcells has started the player that showed him the most.

James,

I see your point, even if it’s not very popular. I too have dealt with the wrath of certain folks when I criticized Parcells. I am now, and will always be, critical of some of the decisions Parcells has made. I won’t get into the specifics because I don’t have time to get into a pissing contest. However, I do think that BP is a great coach. Didn’t have his best year last year. He made some bad decisions, but I still consider him a great coach, and I’m glad we have him. Hopefully, the decision making will improve, and the team will win the 10 games I predict they will.

My point is simply that there is no perfect coach. Not Parcells, not anyone. All we can do is be loyal to the team. Burmafrd said that anyone who was happy with Switzer was not a true Cowboy fan. How unhappy was he when we won the Superbowl in Switzer’s first year? I guess he wasn’t a true Ccowboys fan back then. I’ve been a true Cowboyos fan damn near all my life. I’m happy with anybody who gets them to the Superbowl. Right about now, some of you are just chomping at the bit to point out that the team he won with was a Jimmy Johnson team. Don’t bother, I know that. I could probably have won the Superbowl coaching that team. My point is, if you are a true Cowboys fan, you don’t care who is coaching, as long as they win. I’m not saying the man was a great NFL coach, but history recognizes him as a Superbowl winning coach. Like it or not, he accomplished something most coaches never do. I am a true Cowboys fan, and I don’t care who is coaching, as long as we are winning.

Switzer did not win the Super Bowl in his first year. SF with Steve Young beat the Cowboys………something that Siefert was unable to do with Jimmy Johnson was the Coach. Of course Jimmy had a pair of Brass Balls. I think he took em with him!!!

Parcells is as good as it gets in the NFL. Rafael did a great job highlighting his Grocery Shopping during the weeks leading up to the draft. Furthermore, after he buys the groceries……..he can cook up a pretty good meal.

Let’s see the only guy that has a better reputation……Belichek…..an ex Parcells guy.

Lots of folks say Joe Gibbs was a great coach. But he failed to teach, his assistants to coach and is now back on the sidelines. Look around the league at the number of Bill Parcells proteges are now manning the sidelines of teams. Name one Joe Gibbs assistant that was successful as a head coach. Nothing but COORDINATORS……..Bugle failed as head coach.

Belichek………sort of successful………..Coughlin……….what a run he had in Jacksonville with a new franchise……..wished he were in another division myself……….Crennel………..Marty Schottenheimer…..Al Groh UVA Coach…….I am probably leaving off sevearl……then you look at the players that played for him and listen to what they say.

Bryan Cox is the most vocal cuz he has a radio show. But Carl Banks, Phil Simms, LT and many others also make strong statements about Bill Parcells.

Hard Nosed………Hard Charger. Certainly. Is he not deserving of some criticism. I would dare say he IS. However, the idea that he uses military style leadership in the NFL should be a compliment to the military. Lots of other folks have used similar tactics successfully. Go look up FEDEX stock and read about the manager there. He gives a lot of credit to his experience in the military. Why couldn’t a civilian also adopt these tactics. I know folks from VMI that are very successful and never served their country. DISCIPLINE = SUCCESS. That is what wins battles, on the football field, and in IRAQ and Afghanistan. The latter are a lot more important, the first is just a game……….but both inspire loyalty and require hard work to be successful at.

Now when we look at Bill Parcells…..all last year I was frustrated with Reshard Lee on the bench while OLD EDDIE GEORGE ground out a 3 ypc average. Lee showed in Minnesota he had some go. Parcells says…..he is a liablity on the field unless he has the football in his hands. Well I would dare say Eddie George was a liability WHEN he had the football in his hands. Lee could have given us a little bit of what Julius did later in the year. Also, back in the day………everybody knew Emmit Smith was running. They even learned our Hand Signals and knew which way the play was going. Despite that, if well executed the plays were still successful!!!!!! Good players making good plays and just sticking it to the Defense. Smash mouth football. I was disappointed that Lee did not get the chance to make similar plays. However, I understand that to Bill Parcells that is a NO NO. He expect a back to block, and the greatest back ever Emmit Smith……..might also have been one of the best blockers ever……..I saw Emmit drop many a Blitzing Corner, Linebacker, and even Defensive End despite giving up 50lbs or more to the opposing player. However some of the comments by some have been wanting a group hug from the head coach. NO, that aint going to happen with Bob Knight or Bill Parcells. Parcells uses whatever he has to to motivate his team and his players. I agree with Rafael’s sentiments, I would not want him for my BOSS, but then again if I were in the level of competitive play that occurs in the NFL………there is NO COACH I WOULD RATHER HAVE!!!!

There is another level of eliteness. The United States Navy Seals. The program is considered the most difficult to pass. Some with the greatest potential RING OUT first. Could not cut it. Mental Toughness. Mental Toughness. It is one big game to break you down and make you quit. Yet, those that achieve would not want the standard lowered. Bill Parcells is not into lowering standards either. He strives for excellence. He is tough on his players. He is also extremely loyal to them, more so than any owner or organization is. Two wonderful atheletes enter the program, both with physical gifts from God. Both hard working strong, and potential lethal weapons. Yet one will make it and the other will not. The NFL has the same type mental toughness. Some of it is avoiding injury. Training hard. Working Hard. The mental toughness. YOu do not have to look very far to find that in the players Parcells has drafted and produced. They are and will be named in the Hall of Fame.

Whether it was on the gridiron of my youth, or in the Business World a boss similar to Parcells made me achieve higher results. Ultimately, it produced higher results in both. It was not a lot of fun at the time, but looking back I see the lessons learned and still taught to me many years later. I played on a baseball team that won the division 3 straight years and lost no games. The league, full of envios parents, asked my Coach to step down. They called him too successful. He did not have the single best player at any position. He built a team. We practiced 6 days a week before the season. We pracited every day we did not have a game during the season. We worked hard. At the end of the season he took us out to Go cart races and a pizza joint. I doubt the other teams got either of those. He worked us harder, we learned the game and we were successful. He made me a much better baseball player than I was at any point before that. It was never my best sport. Unfortunately, he did not resist the parents pressure. He simply stated, their will be a lesson taught here today. The lesson you are sending your kids is that hard work, produced a winner, an unbeatable team for three consecutive years. However, the kids will learn that some do not believe in hard work, or competitive sports. They will learn of this and they will know it. My kids will also learn and know of this. They will take bigger pride in my departure than in my presence. I wish you well. The team wen on to an undefeated season yet again. I was too old that season to play but he kids he had brought along did indeed live up to what he had taught and instilled. An assitant under him took the team over. He was the Bill Parcells of my youth, and I was a better person and ballplayer for it.

The only other coach that I know that produced so many other Head Coaches and assistants was our own Tom Landry. Later Jimmy Johnson certainly had his assitants get promotions but not to the same level of success as Bill Parcells. Tom Landry is a legend, and I have read many books about him. However, there were times that I did not like his play calling. The QB controverseys that developed. The handling of Tony Dorsett. Those were all things that I disagreed with. However, the guy produced a winning streak of 20 years that will never be duplicated. Does not mean we cannot criticize our leaders. However, we should do so with respect. Because I think Parcells, Landry, and even Joe Gibbs have certainly earned it.

Jon,

I stand corrected. Okay, the second season, which only strengthens my point. After the first year, we went back to the superbowl under Switzer, and won. They also made the playoffs the year before. He coudln’t have sucked that badly. Anyway, Switzer was just a side point. I got a little aggravated when it was said that if you were happy with Switzer, you weren’t a real cowboys fan. That’s just not true. I’m happy with a farm animal as head coach if the cowboys are winning.

By the way, Jon, you’re right, Parcells and Landry both earned my respect. Landry blew it with me late in his career with decisions that cost the team games. Parcells hasn’t blown it with me, at all. However, I do have concerns over some of the decisions we’ve all seen him make since he’s been running the team.

Jon,

I went back and re-read you last post. I found one thing very interesting. Your dsicussion of Lee vs. George. Again, I agree completely, but it brings to mind one of the biggest disagreements you and I have ever had. . . Playing Henson as opposed to Testaverde when we had our shots. Again, let me state that I was NEVER arguing for Henson to be the starter, but at times, Vinny too, was a liability. At those points, it would have been nice to see a guy Parcells didn’t have confidence in. Now you sound a lot like me in my argument. Parcells wouldn’t bend about using Lee either. His stubbornness could cost us in the end if Lee turns out to be the player others clearly think he can be. It’s frustrating because Lee was here, and we never got the chance to see whether he could be the lead backup or not. Sounds eerily familiar to the argument I made about Henson. Maybe this year, Parcells will look at some of these guys and say, sink or swim.

Yeah, whoever was wondering above,

I didn’t see the espy’s so I wouldn’t know for sure if it was julius in the under armor commerical during the breaks, but I can say I know that he has been in a few magizine shots for them I’ve seen at least two or three under armor ads in various publications with him posing ;)

I was never happy with Switzer- EVER. No fan with any common sense would be. Had JeJ been able to keep his ego in check and not push JiJ out, we would have won 4 in a row. Simple as that. The moment JiJ quit, I was praying that JeJ would get a good coach- then he got Switzer- and I knew that that was the first real step in the loss of our dynasty. If a good coach had replaced JiJ, we would have had a chance- but we instead got a joke.
Now as regards BP: he is a disciplinarian, as has been noted. What do you think LOMBARDI was?
James, YOU are a joke, as many other posters here have made clear.
But keep right on with your stupidity- it is amusing.

Burmafrd,

Switzer was aweful, cost us a shot at 4 in a row, possibly 5. If Jerry had brought in someone who was a …. diciplinarian like Parcells, he could have kept Irvin and the gang in check. Also, if you remember Switzer ran unto the field and got a 15 yard penalty against SF. (Though Deion did grab Irvin’s shoulder pad, and he had a right to be irate, still a stupid penalty that at least cost us 3 points and the moment Dallas had spent 2 and half quarters busting their butts to build up and get back into that game.) In the 5 year, we destroyed the SB Champs on a Monday night game. Going up and down on the field, only yielding 7 field goals, and our D pretty much shut the Pack down except for a garbage time TD, so if Michael and the rest of the crew kept their focus on foot ball, that year should have been ours too! … so I definately agree with you about Switzer!

Burmafrd

What are you , 6 years old? Why do you have to resort to insults to make your point? Where do you get off speaking for al Cowboys fans? And at what point did you become the judge of who was and was not a fan? To call someone stupid just because the don’t agree with you doesn’t make you sound like an Einstein. I was VERY happy with the job Switzer did when we won the Superbowl. You might have been crying in your milk back then, but I was celebrating, WITH THE REST OF THE (not real) COWBOY FANS!

Just because you don’t like Switzer doesn’t mean the man did a bad job. Let me ask you, what result would you have liked? The man won the Superbowl. How much more can you ask. As for your comment about winning the one we lost, first of all, we got pretty damn close. Secondly, you don’t know that we would have won that one with a different coach. Hell, how many passes did Switzer throw that year? How many yards did he rush for? None, because he wasn’t out there playing. The man can’t control everything.

Your argument about Switzer causing the end of a dynasty holds no water because we went out the next year and won the Superbowl again. If you have to insult people and resort to name calling, you should consider looking in the mirror before you call someone else stupid.

Anyone trying to claim Switzer was a good coach- is not worth listening too.
And that is a majority opinion of a whole lot of PROFESSIONALS.
He probably is considered the WORST coach to ever have a SB win.
Switzer took a finely tuned machine and turned it into a hunk of junk.
It was inertia and leadership on the part of the players that got us that last SB- and if you are too stupid to figure that out, then too bad.

Rob2,

I also said I wanted to see Henson out there, and I wanted to see Lee out there. But I understand the why Parcells did both. I did not necessarily agree with either decision. But I could understand them, and I am a fan not the coach. I mean I don’t know squat about these guys work ethic or other issues.

Although I do not want to see Henson fed to the lions in his first year either. Chicago was teeing off on him. Blitzing him and he was not picking it up. No reason to let a kid face a serious injury. Henson is not the Aikman or Manning that we have to know today if he is or if he isnt because of Cap Reasons……….as far as that goes it could be said of Romo also. I think the biggest statement Bill Parcells made was only bringing in Bledsoe. We are one of the few clubs going to Camp with only 3 QBs. So obviosly this is a coach that had Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler on the same Giants team……..he must feel comfortable at QB……and that is a good sign for Henson and Romo.

I think we are quietly improving our QB situation. If Bill Parcells has worked with Simms, Hostetler, Bledsoe, and Pennington………why not give him a chance to figure out Henson. After all he worked out Henson and chose him. He did not inherit Drew Henson. He looked at him and a gave up a 3rd round pick for him. This kid is not Carter, Hutchinson and Drew probably rated higher in college than a lot of the QBs taken in the draft. Again he left early so it is hard to say. I said I was willing to put anybody in there other than Vinny. But I said I understood why Bill stuck it out. To try to win. We win a few more of those games we sneak into the playoffs. I mean that Seattle Game was pretty impressive. We were in a shoot out and actually won it. I think we are all going to be pleasantly surprised with Bledsoe. I also while as a fan I may want Lee on the field, or Henson…….understand that they may not be what is best…………we are using a lot of emotion in our decisions. The coach is not. He wants to win, and Vinny unfortunately was our best shot at that.

Troy Aikman’s career was probably shortened by his first year alone. He was on his back all the time. At some point what is the guy learning. Troy seems to think he learned and had to take his knocks and has said as much for Henson………it is a tough one. But Troy came out of UCLA as the number one overall pick and having played college ball. Drew has been shagging flies in the farm system of the NY Yankees. I mean there is print out there saying he was throwing the football like a baseball. I think learning that is better where he did it, on the practice field.

I have always rooted for the Cowboys…….but watching Switzer on the sidelines was tough. You just knew he was a yes man for Jerry. You also got the sense that he did not have the respect of Troy, Emmit and Mike. If Jerry had truly ever wanted to Coach the Cowboys………that was the year he should have done it. I think the argument has been made that we would have won more with a better coach. Uh……..say a guy like Jimmy Johnson.

Lee should have been on the field more. He is going to do something this year.

And there is nothing like live game action so Henson should have played more.

Burmafrd,
F**k you buddy!. You don’t impress me. Nothing but HOT AIR! Your posts are more of a waste of this Blog’s time than ANYONE else’s. Go get your blankie and snack and then have a nappy 1st grader. What a perfect example of someone with no class or brains!

IF you are throwing the football like a baseball…….and you ain’t wearing pinstripes and you ain’t picking up the blitz……….you are going to be to the lions.

What is learned by getting a guys block knocked off. Somone else also made the point…….was Parcells evaluating Julius……..what about Crayton and Copper? Do we all fell glad to know JJ is the real deal after the shoulder injury? Are we at least somewhat optimistic about Crayton and Copper as a possibitlity? Would Drew Henson offered BP an opportunity to evaluate those players? KJ ran a bad route and admitted the Interception was his fault and not Vinny’s. Does Drew even know enough to know that……..does Key come over and tell him it was his mistake? I do not know, but I do know that Vinny offered us the best chance to win and evaluate the other talent on the field……….Witten, Crayton, Copper, Jones………I mean we all got to see these KIDS play and perform. We are all banking on them in our future. If Drew is flat on his back, and possibly injured what does that teach him……….or these other guys?

Lee should have been on the field more. He is going to do something this year.

Yup, cant block, cant catch the ball,cant pick up the blitz, cant make players miss tackles and is a straight line player,he will ride the pine bench in Buffalo instead of Dallas.

Some of ya’ll need to either tone it down or get your own Yahoo Chat and carry on. Or as the ole ball coach used to say, put on your gloves and get in the ring. Kids are fans too. Geez, are ya’ll both fans of the same team……so who cares if somebody is Switzer Fan…….I thought the guy was a bum and said as much, but others are entitled to their opinion. I have had plenty of heated debates in here……..but the name calling stuff is getting out of control.

I am ready for CAMP when we can quit the name calling and talk of Switzer and the past and look at our FUTURE!!!!

Jon,
Good for you!

Derrick

I guess you didn’t see the game against Minnesota when he got a chance to ran the ball.

"Yup, cant block, cant catch the ball,cant pick up the blitz "

Did you see any of this because I didn’t. Its had to block, catch a ball or pick up the blitz when you are not in the game. And if he couldn’t do this then BP should have just put him in to run the ball some of the time. And he can make people miss. I not going to say he is a super star but he is going to do something.

How cool is the Ring of Honor for the triplets? I am already planning on attending that game anyway. It is going to be awesome. Thought I would share my excitement.

First of all, “The recalcitrance and bullheadedness of certain individuals has begun to bore me.” “F**k you buddy!” – these were James’ posts, so you all should lay off of Burmafrd a bit.

Burmafrd,

You are absolutely right again … the worst coach to win a Super Bowl was Barry Switzer!! … Anyone thinking that he contributed to the Cowboys dynasty of the 90’s is foolish. Get real!! If the guy was a decent coach he would have found another home. For a Cowboy blog to insult Parcells and give kudos to Switzer .. well we should be ashamed of ourselves. Parcells is bringing back the Cowboy tradition!!! Winning!! … Switzer was a laughing stock.

Switzer was a good college coach but don’t down him, he just took that job if you want to down someone let it be the person that hired him, to prove a point. JJ didn’t have the team best interest in mind when he hired Switzer or anyone else besides Jimmy and BP all of the other coaches have not yet landed a head coaching job in the NFL.

AW,
 remember avion cason, same type of back as Lee,straight line back, but with alittle less speed.Dime a dozen backs, not a difference maker.

I seen the game and what has Lee shown since, for him to get into the games, nothing.

Okay, you’ve had your chance to vent. Are you happy now? Listen, and listen good, because I’m only going to say this once. Got your ears open Burmafrd? Good. Let’s try this once more. I DON"T GIVE A RAT’s @ss about who the coach is, AS LONG AS THE COWBOYS ARE WINNING!

Burmafrd, you could coach the team, and as long as they are winning, I would cheer you on like yo were the greatest coach ever. I KNOW Switzer screwed up. I KNOW he was not the best coach. Hell, he may very well have been the worst ever, as Eric says, but he won the big one. How many can say that? By the way, did you ever hear me say that he was a great coach, or even a good coach? Did you hear me when I said I’d root for a farm animal if he were coaching a winning Cowboys team? Didn’t that tell you anything? Say whatever you like, but when you look at coaches who won the Superbowl, like it or not, Switzer is on that list. As a Cowboys coach, that’s good enough for me. If Campo had won one, and oh God I wish he had, some of you same guys would be bashing him too.

Now, can we let the Switzer thing go? Sometimes, I swear, it’s hard to read some of the crap you guys write when someone differs from your own opinions. Some of you do act like kids. You resort to name calling, insults, and whatever comes to mind. You’ve got your opinion, and I respect that. I’ve got mine, and as long as you push yours on the rest of the readers, you can bet I’ll get mine out there too. If you don’t like it, don’t read it.

Burmafrd, you said my opinion wasn’t worth listening to. Don’t. It’s a free country. You don’t have too, but when you make universal dismissals of anyone who sees things differently than you, it really makes you seem like you’ve got the problem, not us.

Eric, you sound just like him, so I’m talking to you too.

Eric Richard,
 Darn right that was my post and F**K you too REMF!

Gentlemen, we are Dallas Cowboy fans and not Eagle fans. Please be respectfully of your fellow blogger. Rafael created this blog site for us to freely exchange our ideals and opinions. If for no other reason please respect his site.

Thanks, Darrell W.

You’re right, Darrell. I’ll be cool. Can’t say that for everyone else.

Rob2,

Sound like who? Burmafrd? … How hypocritical!! A guy that agrees with you but uses foul language, insults people left and right, and has NO MERIT to his arguement, but that’s is OK with you? … By the way, when did I direct any comment at you? … James is cursing left and right … so go tell him to grow up. …

James,

GROW UP!!

James,

First I’m hypocritical, then I need to grow up. Did you see me encouraging James to curse at anyone? When have you EVER seen me encourage anyone to curse at someone else?

And oh yes, I said you sound just like Burmafrd. Do I have to quote you? Look up a few posts and read what YOU said. You were cheering him on and calling “anyone thinking that he (Switzer) contributed to the Cowboys dynasty of the 90â€â"¢s is foolish”. Your words, pal, not mine. And you have the audacity to call me hypocritical. Glass house, baby!

Sorry James. That post was for Eric.

Also, I’m man enough to admit my mistakes, so Eric, I see you were telling James to grow up, not me. I misread you on that point. My apologies.

Derrick
You can’t show anything if you are not in the game Lee showed enough in the one game he got more then two carries to get more carries in other games. Lee is not a straight line runner. But he is gone now so oh well.

For the people who want to sit here and praise Barry Switzer and in the the same breath insult a coaching legend and a sure Hall of Famer … YOUR DISTASTE FOR PARCELLS COACHING PRINCIPLES LACKS MERIT!!

“I was VERY happy with the job Switzer did”

“I am now, and will always be, critical of some of the decisions Parcells has made.”

Well, listen good, and open your ears … Parcells is a football giant!! Barry Switzer was a laughing stock … This is the opinion of the majority of FOOTBALL WISE FANS!! … this is why every word out of the Tuna’s mouth is scrutinized and examined by the media … the only news Switzer is making is when he brings a loaded rifle to the airport. … PERIOD!!! end of discusion!!!

Derrick Says:

July 21st, 2005 at 5:42 pm
AW,
remember avion cason, same type of back as Lee,straight line back, but with alittle less speed.Dime a dozen backs, not a difference maker.

I seen the game and what has Lee shown since, for him to get into the games, nothing.

Derrick???

what the heck,

same back, ok, I remember cason, and he was a speed back with a lot less mass then lee, lee could pound it, cason was more of a scat back. Cason didn’t have a little less speed than LEE, LEE has a lot less speed than Cason. I do’nt know what your smoking, but if you can’t tell the difference between those to I don’ t know what you can.

Seriously, There is almost no similarities between those two

I agree that they probably both aren’t anything more than special teamers, but Cason had more speed. and was a smaller back,

whatever

Rob,

No you didn’t chear anyone on, but you told Burmafrd to tone it down but not the guy cursing all over the place (who by the way shared your view).

“anyone thinking Switzer contributed to the dynasty is foolish”. … Is that harsh?? Come on now!! …… but if you took offense to that then I will apologize.

Rob,

You and I should just kill this arguement, cause I have no ill feelings towards you, I just disagree with your coaching grades. … and i am sorry if I offended you in any way.

But James,

You can still take your anti-Parcells retoric and political retoric and go to the “I Love George Bush” site.

that is www.ilovegeorgieporgie.com

Cool. As I’ve said before, we all get excited at times, but you are every bit the die hard Cowboys fan I am. Everybody’s not going to agree with me. Some of you think I’m an idiot. That’s cool. My wife agrees with you. I just hope we can all agree to disagree with the respect this blog deserves. I’ll keep coming back as long as you guys give me something to come back for.

James, we all have to be cool while we’re on this blog. I can’t control what you say, but I’m asking you and all the bloggers out there to remember that we’re all pulling for the same team, so let’s respect each other. If we start it, maybe everyone else will follow suit.

Cool Rob. Thank you.

AW:

I remember the Minnesota game, and Lee, not even once, was given the responsability of protecting Testaverde in a pass play. Every time he went to the field, he was being called to carry the ball and the only reason for the freakish average per carry (7 yards) had more to do with Minnesota protecting a long gain with the safeties at 30 yards from the line of scrimmage because they were up in the scoreboard. Look at game tape and you will take note of that.

Chandus,

You are pretty spot on with your lineup assesment. But after reading Spags today it seems that the greater picture for Ellis is not going to be as an every down DE. Expect Canty to be starting sooner rather than later in the 3-4 sets. His coach in college was Al Groh the man who took over for Bill with the Jets so he knows the new defense better than anyone.

Alot of the blow hards on this blog want to talk about what they think, but lets look at what we know. Parcells said he is going with one base defense or the other. And nothing would suggest that the base wont be a 3-4. Not some concoction of both as the homers who want to date Ellis romanitcaly on this site would like to suggest. Canty has the size and the ability to add bulk to his frame without compormising what he does best, while at the same time already knowing the terminology and the technique this defense requires from the DE position. It may not all come together this year, but don’t expect Parcells to abandon his plan because Ellis and Glover seem out of position. He’s going to charge ahead and build this defense in his image.

And is good to see that you’re coming into an agreement of stop talking about Switzer, who on the sidelines was more of a shell…. In those years, the ones with voice were Dave Campo, Butch Davis and Norv Turner. And Switzer opened the door to Turner and Davis, with Davis going out the door after Switzer first year…. Does that say something? BTW, Zampeze was the OC after Turner? I don’t really recall that….

And yep, Cash, I also read Spags article, and Canty is already doing some conditioning work, the question is how far behind will he be at the mentioned date (Aug. 8)?

I start to wonder if Spags comes by this blog, I’ve caught some of his themes or mentions a day or even in the same day after one of us starts wondering about something….

Meant Aug. 8 not Aug.8)…….

I wish Rafael would start a different discussion.

whats going on with kevin burnett? anybody? anybody?

There has been so much talk about Canty- just how good is he REALLY?
Burnett- a good hard nosed LB is always good to have- hope he is one.
THose and many more questions should be at least partly answered by the end of TC. Hopefully they are all answered in the positive.
And for anyone who thought that Switzer was anything other then a joke,
$&*&%$(^%$$##@##&**!!!!!!!!

AND PLEASE SOMEONE START A NEW BLOG!!!!

Rob2,
Indeed the most insulting thing that has been said about me is that I am not a true Cowboys fan. Nothing could be further from the truth.

EricRichard,
I’m not a bit surprised your a Bush hater. I always bring out the best in misguided, know it all liberals! LOL!

As for a new topic, try this:
Will we have a holdout by any of our draft picks ?
According to Spags on the website, Stephen Jones has signed Ratliff-7th round, and Beriault-6th; while he is now working on Pettiti-6th. Being that we are now less than week away from TC reporting date and because theres is no CBA, which allows a maximum 5 year contract, which according to Jones is making negotiations more difficult, will we have our 1st rounders signed by the first practice? If not, will one of them balk at reporting to camp until the deal is done? Give me odds.

$&*&%$(^%$$##@##&**!!!!!!!!

Nice. Very nice. Do you kiss you mother with that mouth? Sad. Anyway, since there’s no talking to some people, I’ll direct my comments to those who want to talk about the Cowboys, and not bash people for differing opinions.

Jess, I’ve been looking for some information on Burnett too. With all the talk about Ware, Spears, and Canty, Burnett has been flying under the radar. On Monday, Cowboysplys.com is running an article on Dat Nguyen’s look in the 3-4. There might be something there on him.

That should have said Cowboysplus.com. These big hands.

I do find it interesting that, according to Spags, Jerry Jones has personally stepped in to quell the Greg Ellis thing. Hmm, shades of Jimmy Johnson-Troy Aikman perhaps. Nah, BP wouldn’t do such a thing to a player would he?

It’s like a sewing circle in here!!! Bunch of women.

rafael,

its time for a new post….please

im tired of hearing the guys bickering about pointless stuff

Chandus

First of all I didn’t say he was given the responsibility of protecting the old man I mean Testaverde, you made my point if he couldn’t then just let him run the ball. BP only give him that one drive and he scored that should have got him some more. Don’t knock him because it was Minnesota’s D I didn’t see George doing it that game. The game wasn’t out of hand at that point, so years are years. Lee should have been on the field more last year with George there. Lee is signed George is still looking for work.

Josh M,

I see you brought your sewing needle to the party. Welcome.

To all of you who are soooooooo tired of reading this stuff. Stop posting. It’s just that simple. No one is forcing you to. But as long as people keep hurling insults, hey, I’ll keep defending those of us who want to express our opinions, ON WHATEVER SUBJECT.

Anyone know if dallascowboys.com is planning to show the Cowboys scrimmage again on their website live? I caught it 2 years ago I think, they showed it on their website. It is without pads and basically like flag football, but after so many months without seeing the Boys play I’ll settle for anything. I want to see Ware and all the new players in some sort of action since I won’t be at camp.

And Lee is young… George is a veteran on his 30’s… That’s a pointless comparison… Think for a moment, AW, if a defense sees Lee entering the field, and they know that Parcells doesn’t trust him while protecting Testaverde, they would assume that he’s going to run the ball… don’t come again with the Minnesota game, because that was the first game and tape evidence wasn’t as obvious as in later games. The point is, every time, after that first game, that Lee entered the field, the opposing defenses knew he would take the ball, and that’s the reason that he had even minus yards in a game (Pitt’s handed the ball twice for -3) and low yardage games like those against Wash. (4 carries for 10 yards).

And I don’t think that any sane coach could have taken the nerve of placing an untrusted player protecting the old man, as you said before…

And I would also like to have something new out of you, Rafael, but I understand you, there’s too much lack of material to write for…

im trying to get any news on the surgery kevin burnett had done will he be ready for camp or whats the good (hopefully) word?

Chandus

Please two carries -3 yards that is not enough carries to say anything. Any back in the NFL will tell you they need more then two carries to do something. The most carries he got was 6 that is not enough. BP didn’t trust him fine but let him prove you wrong in the game the only to learn is in the game. Next time look at all the stats. And think about this if the other team was going to think every time Lee was in the game it was going to be a run then use that against them and throw a quick out or something. All I saying is Lee should have gotten more carries.

First-year man ReShard Lee led the team in rushing average (4.7) with 128 yards on 27 carries. He led all Cowboys in rushing at Min. (9/12) with 35 yards on five carries, including a seven-yard touchdown run that pulled Dallas to within four points in the third quarter … Lee carried four times for 15 yards vs. Cle. (9/19) … He had four carries for 10 yards in the Monday night win at Was. (9/27) … Lee averaged seven yards-per-carry on four attempts, finishing the day with 28 rushing yards vs. NYG (10/10) … Lee was the Cowboys leading rusher with 39 yards on six carries (6.5-yard average) at Cin. (11/7).

jess
I read that Canty is the only one that will not be ready for camp, check out nfl.com

AW,
One of the things that I am behind Tuna 100% on, is his insistence that his players be able to perform all aspects of their position at a minimum level. Tuna said that he didn’t “trust” Lee. That has some possible overtones that I disapprove of, but it boiled down to Lee being unable to block or unwilling to block. If it was the former, perhaps he only needed some more instruction in technique. If it was the latter, especially if Lee refused to take instruction ABOUT HIS JOB, then BP was right to let him go. Even with the small amount of reps Lee got last year, we all saw that he could run. Until I see how Lee does for Buffalo this year I will give BP the benefit of the doubt on this one.

As far as Chris Canty goes, I would rather see him miss the first half of the season and heal properly; than have him come back too soon and hurt something (whether that be eye or knee). Whenever he is ready, if he can produce, it will have been well worth it to send the “chickens” our 4th rounder. If he can come in and kick butt , we will have THE steal of this years draft.

AW:

Ok, I’m going to give you a more complete analysis on the Cowboys Offense with Reshard Lee on the field.

We’re considering that Parcells wouldn’t put him in a situation in which Lee would had the need to cover Testaverde, ok?

That means that Lee would carry the load or a short pass, ok? And there you have a predictable Offense! You could get with it with speed on the sides, but after Glenn and Morgan injuries, speed wasn’t one of the fortes on the Cowboys sides, so with Lee on the field the corners would place themselves near the Cowboys receivers, covering short routes and a mike backer, safety or whatever would blitz from within their D looking to take on Lee if he rushes. And BTW, Defenses already knew that the Cowboys could only run on the left side, so defenses crowded in there.

And Lee wasn’t a good ball catcher also…. so they couldn’t made defenses pay if they acted recklesely, going with a fast pass to the side.

The Cowboys Offense was too predictable with Lee on the field, at least with George they were in position to mask some of his deficiencies with some pretty good pass blocks.

Your’re right James, and I’ll add a grain of salt, whatever exercises he’s doing right now, won’t do for Training Camp, which means that he will be behind the rest of the team, do I need to express my preocupations of a guy not in the same conditions as the rest of the guys around him? In that situation one player could get injured quite easily…

James
You are right we wont know anything until we see what Lee does this year but remember he is going into his second year.

Chandus
If the offense was so predictable with Lee in the game then where did his numbers come from?? If he couldn’t block then send him out on a short route that doesn’t mean you have to give him the ball. And lets be real George sucked last year period. And I know you was happy when you saw Lee get the ball when JJ was hurt.

dallascowboys.com’s Mickey Spagnola Reports:

“On Greg Ellis: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was adamant about his commitment to and need for Greg Ellis. And not for just the 2005 season, but for years to come – no matter Ellis recently voicing his concerns about his ability to play in the 3-4 while sounding a tad insecure about his continued future in Dallas. "We got a lot of young guys wanting to be players,” Jones said. “I know Greg Ellis is a player. I want him to have confidence in that. I certainly wanted to assure him he is an integral part … integral part . . . of our future.” That doesn’t sound like a guy soon to be run off because of some $500,000 roster bonus in March of 2006 or a guy who suddenly is on the trading block. And if you continued to listen to Jones, he sure didn’t sound as if the Cowboys merely were going to sacrifice Ellis’ 271 pounds playing him out of position. “I never have thought of Greg as a player sitting in there plugging up the middle,” Jones said. So everyone take a chill pill on that one for now.

On Andre Gurode: Don’t think the Cowboys are simply throwing the fourth year interior lineman under the bus by replacing him at right guard with Marco Rivera and moving him back to center, where he started six games his rookie year. “He’s playing a lot better at center,” said Jones, who intimated he might give the club some help against 3-4 defenses when the center must take on those fire hydrant nose tackles. So like are you saying he could challenge Al Johnson for the starting job? “Yes I am,” Jones said frankly."

So for all the heat I took on my proposition of Ellis playing OLB in the 3-4/DE in the 4-3, like Jerry said,“.. take a chill pill on that one for now.”

And yes long before JJ said, and his son Stephen reported, I had suggested that the move for Gurode to center was to “get the 5 best blockers on the field”. No doubt it would take a heck of a lot for Gurode to beat out Johnson, but I am telling you Andre was a nasty player in college, and if he finds his rhythym he is going to be an excellent pro.

For now, I’ll keep taking the heat on these two topics … but only a couple of days away until we start to find out!

Eric Richard,
I am fully aware of Jerry’s comments re Gurode, I just don’t see Gurode being a smart enough or focused enough player to displace Johnson. He has a good chance to be the backup C, but IMO nothing more. I remember when he was drafted out of Colorado and I have watched his progress these last 3 years. Good for him if he comes up with the job. I just don’t see it happening.

AW:

I’m too looking up for Lee making the best of what he’s got in Buffalo, but don’t be surprised if he’s the third back there… Maybe with a different supporting cast he can learn to block and to catch passes out of the backfield, he just never learned that here.

I was happy when I saw that game in Minn… Then Parcells talked about why he didn’t gave him the ball more, and I said to myself, the guy’s right, the offense was already predictable… But you’re entitled to your opinion…

AW thanks for the info, GO DALLAS

Josh A Says:

July 18th, 2005 at 4:04 pm
Eric for you to even sit on this site and talk about how good Gurode is, means to me that you donâ€â"¢t even watch the games.

…. where oh where can Joshie be? … I guess Jerry Jones doesn’t watch the games either!! LOL

Man,

I take a few days off to move and things start happening! Yes, new threads are coming, but I’m still getting the bugs out of the new roadrunner and discovered this afternoon that I’ve got some rodent living under the bathtub of my new apartment. Animal control is slow, so I’ve got my hockey stick at the ready!

A few things:

Burmafrd,

You see the WordPress link at the bottom of the page? Use it. You don’t like this blog? Start your own. It’s a big internet out there, mister.

James, and everyone else,

Watch the profanity, even in blocked out form. I’m running the blog on the bar model. Debates are cool and even encouraged. But once people start hurtling slurs or profanity, that’s not cool. (Yes, some bars let you swear, but if you keep doing it, they’ll ask you to leave.)

We’re all Cowboys fans here folks. Be cool.

Rafael,

I was the one who requested a new thread. Please don’t take it as a dis. I am just aware that this discussion has run its course and I think that it is contributing to the swearing and anger.

The fact that we have been contributing to this thread for 230+ times shows that we are craving and loving what you do.

Keep in mind, complaints can be a good thing when taken as contructive advice.

Eric:

Might be too soon to start preaching victory, you know? Jones is the owner, he’s paying Gurode and he might be the one responsible of Gurode selection… You might been better start chanting victory until after Training Camp if Gurode does beat Johnson, move that I also doubt because in Gurode first year he made a good job at Center while Johnson in his first year made a nearly excellent job and that playing with a strong left side and a rather weak right…

Rafael:

Good to hear from you, take care of rabies, ok?

Rafael leaves us alone for a little while and it turn in to “Lord of the Flies”.
How about we chew on something less acidic.

Since the triplets are going in to the ROH; Who else goes from teh 90’s?

Woodson should be a shoe-in but what about Moose and Novacek? Do any linemen make it?

I say yes to the Mooooooooose, Larry Allen is another no-brainer but let’s wait until he retires, but other than those… Novacek is arguable, considering that he only played for 6 seasons in here, but being vital for the SB’s runs might be his key in. Other guys arguable are Stepnoski, Jim Jeffcoat and Erik Williams. But you could also make statements for several past guys like Pearson, Too Tall, Harvey Martin and others… I guess that several of those guys will enter the ring in the first year at Arlington, with the Ring of honor and the Cowboys Hall of Fame there will be room to fill.

Charles Hailey and Larry Allen, and that is about it. Hailey was the “missing piece”, and his pass rushing skills were huge to our run there in the 90’s, not to mention he won another (2?) rings with SF. I would say Erik Williams, who was the most dominant OT to ever play the game, but to get into the Hall you have to have longevity, and he did not. But man I’ve seen him throw Reggie White around, and Reggie was in the prime of his career! Now that is saying something!!

The Triplets had to go in no question. Before more from the ’90’s are inducted though, I want to see all the deserving guys from prior decades put in first.

Eric

You are right Williams did SHUT DOWN White in his prime as an Eagle and Packer. I remember a few games where Madden was hyping the matchup and after the game he was like,“Did Reggie White even suit up? How good is that Erik Williams?” He also faced some other pretty good pass rusher like oh say Bruce Smith, who he also kept quiet in Super Bowl victories.

Williams was injured in an auto accident and was never the same after that. I for one do not think that should count against a guy, but hey if he is a Cowboy you know the media ain’t going to give him pass.

The argument the Barry lovers made back in the Barry vs. Emmit arugment was always “Yeah but anybody could run behind that line.” Well I for one think Arizona and 937 yards at a ripe old age heading off into the sunset should shut those critics up about that. However, those lineman do deserve credit. Tui, Nate, Stepnoski, Erik and Larry were the best in the business as evidenced not only by Emmits rushing, rushing titles, yards, TDs, but also by Troy hardly getting touched for a period of about 5 years there they just DOMINATED the line of scrimmage.