Fun With Numbers, Midseason Report

Sounds good, can’t argue with that. But this year it seems like I keep looking at these teams in “tiers” as you put it. The Colts, Steelers, maybe Broncos and Pats (until proven otherwise) are in a group of their own-talent, experience, coaching. The good news is they’re all in the AFC. As far as the NFC, your top 5 seem right, although Tampa could move up if their quarterback is playing again, but my point is you can’t rank them-on any given day any of these teams matches up about evenly, including our Cowboys. You’d expect close games between any of them, but wouldn’t be surprised if any of them blow each other out, either. we just have to get to the playoffs, though, or it doesn’t matter.
 A stat I’ve heard mentioned is avg. yards/rush, as a sign of controlling the line of scrimmage, and a large difference between gaining more on off. and giving up less on def. Unf., we don’t stack up well there, we’re negative a half/yard os so. What do you think of that one?

Larry,

Brian Griese is out for the year. They’re down to Chris Simms and Tim Rattay.
I would have them much higher if Griese were healthy.

The Cowboys are the best team in the NFC, hands down. They could have easily gone 7-1 (or 8-0), and their defense is strong and getting better every week. The offense has struggled to put up points, but has moved the ball well, and looks like it is beginning to get the running game going. Once Bledsoe starts going to Witten more at the goal line, watch out.

Hey cowboy fans,

I am very happy with “D” @ the halfway mark. Like I said the other day , they will only get better every week. I think this team will go as far as the offense will take them. The defense is solid and will keep them in every game this year. I am just not convinced on how solid our offense is. Overall they seem ok, but they are not as consistent as I would like. Now with FA out it doesn`t instill much confidence in me how this offense will react down the road. I look at their schedule: Denver, KC, Carolina,Giants @ know the offense will have to pick it up this half to make a run at the playoffs.

As far as the NFC East goes: Philly—Dead
                                           Wash— not convinced
                                           Giants— seem solid, but ?
          Dallas— Has physically manhandled every NFC team !!!

If Offense can put up 21pts a game they will win the east !!!

Rafael,

Its a little different. But it is interesting.

Raf,

Here is a question:

Of the modern era Super Bowl teams how many of them received a bye in the first round of the playoffs?

• Modern Era- the format of 6 playoff teams from each conference with the 2 division winners with the best records receiving byes

Raf,

One of the big diffences i’ve noticed between this
team and the early 90’s cowboys is lack of competition
in the nfc east in the early 90’s.The Nfc east was clearly
in decline in the early to mid 90’s with the exception of
the boys, who were on the rise.I think it made it easier
to play younger players in that situation.

I just heard Chris Mortenson name a few teams that TO could end up with if he is waived by the Eagles this year. The Cowboys were one of them. What does everyone else think? Would this be possible? They do have the cap room. And the contract could only be for this year, no commitments. He would definately be the last piece of the puzzle for a Superbowl appearance this year. Any comments?

Carolina might be the best team in the NFC.

That is the one team that I would not want to face in the playoffs…..they have some of the best defensive guys in the leauge and have weapons like Steve Smith. Well coached and always well prepared.

I think we are another year away from being the best with some more experience, another OLB and some more experience from our youngsters. I still say we can go 11-5 this year and far in the playoffs if we got hot maybe even the Super Bowl.

Watching the Redskins beat up on the owensless Eagles was almost fun. I hate Philly and am glad to see them in disarray. I don’t think they are the best team in the NFC by a long shot in fact I think there day has come and gone. Their fans can already see a changing of the guard as the Cowboys and Giant are taking over the NFC East and will remain at the top for the next few years. Sorry Beagles you missed again.

Dan T,

Forget it! If the cowboys sign TO, that will be the worst sellout since Deion. We have a good cohesive team here, I don’t think TO would be good with BP anyway.

I’d like to see TO try that “Anybody else want some?” crap in the Cowboys locker room,Larry Allen would tear him to shreds…….lol

Parcells knows how to deal with problem childs, look at Keyshawn & T Glenn. Plus, what better way to get back at Philly. I think TO would love to play for the Eagles worst enemy to get back at them.

My first reaction is no way on TO in Dallas…..BUT….BP has a history of taming wild ones in the past. K. Johnson is the most obvious but he also was able to control Brian Cox, LT etc. I hope it doesn’t happen but I wouldn’t completely rule it out.

EricR,

There have been 15 playoff series since the ‘modern era’ began in 1990. [Before that, there were only 4 wildcard teams, and all 6 Division winners received a bye.] That is a total of 90 participating teams. Of the 60 who made it to a Championship game, 49 received a bye in the first round. Of the 30 teams who participated in the Super Bowl, 26 received a bye, with 14 out of 15 Super Bowl winners getting a bye. The 4 teams to reach the Super Bowl, who had to play in a wildcard game, were the 1992 Bills, the 1997 Broncos, the 1999 Titans, and the 2003 Panthers, with the ’97 Broncos as the only Super Bowl winners to play in a wildcard game (in that time period).

The question remains whether the bye week is a tremendous advantage or whether the teams who receive the bye are merely superior. It’s probably a little of both. One other thing to remember is that the teams who gain the bye play at home against the teams that don’t.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate TO, but I have to be honest he’s a great football player. Just think, with our tough young defense and add TO with Keyshawn, T Glenn & J Witten. Plus our 2 young RB’s. Bledsoe would have a field day!

Regarding Carolina, they’re good but I think they’re overrated at this point. They have played an incredibly easy schedule. I’ll include TB yesterday in that as well. So far they’ve played NO, NE, Miami, GB, AZ, Detroit, Minn, and TB yesterday. Only NE could be considered good. They lost to NO and Miami.

I hope it doesnt happen, but one thing for sure. If he were a cowboy the reaction of T.O. standing on the star would be completely different. Still dont see it though. Maybe with Atlanta or even Oakland. Hey, maybe Baltimore will take another shot.

Dan T, I bet your thinking is a lot like the Eagles before they signed TO. They drooled over the upside and dreamed about teaming him with McNabb. The big question is how much do you subtract from the team by adding him to the picture. This team is pretty well balanced now and doesn’t show any signed of individuals putting themselves before the team. I think you lose a lot more than you gain.

I don’t see that happening,he’s proven for years to be a bi-polar,narcissistic trouble maker,we are coming along nicely and don’t need that headache!

My first reaction to Owens with the Cowboys, is that Parcells would resign before that happened. However, Parcells might consider Owens’ stunts this year to be merely contract related, which usually don’t upset Parcells. He also might not be concerned about Owens’ touchdown celebrations. Owens is a hard worker and has no off-field issues that would eliminate him from Parcells’ consideration. If Owens is happy with a contract, he could become a good player for Parcells to work with. I DO think, however, that Parcells might be very concerned about how Owens relates to his teammates, especially his quarterbacks. That one could be a stopper, but I’m still not sure.

I’m also not sure how Jerry Jones would view Owens on the Cowboys. Would he slaver over Owens’ potential as a playmaker? Or would he be revolted by Owens’ grossly disrespectful actions at Texas Stadium? That one could go either way, too.

Neither one of them is likely to comment on this until Owens becomes available, due to infringement issues.

Personally, I hope Owens never dons a Cowboys uniform. But, if he does, I guess I’ll have to hold my nose and hope for the best.

Dan T:

I don’t think so, Parcells has been working to make a team that has as a top priority playing together as a team to get some W’s without putting any enphasis into stats, what message would he be sending his team if he suddenly brings T.O. in? Who’s the name that comes first to mind when talking about me-first players? T.O.

BTW, Terry Glenn hasn’t been problematic, his only problem has been his lack of health throughout his career. KJ in the other hand had some problems, but got into Parcells house and he quited. T.O. got himself into Reid house, who was known as another Team first coach and didn’t.

That makes up for a big NO to T.O. And a big message to the rest of the players in the league would be to see T.O. be shown the door and him receiving minor interest from the rest of the league at FA, because being honest, who would want a guy like him on their locker room?

Any Cowboy fan that would want this Cancer(T.O) on your team, needs to seek help. This idiot has shown time and time again that he’s all about himself, not the team, BIll wants no part of Malcontents,thugs and hoodlums, and thats what T.O is and you think this clown is the difference maker, yeah, he’s a difference maker alright, if you want your team to end up in the basement of the division, then T.O’s your man.

T.O. a Cowboy? Contrary to popular belief, I have always stated Owens can play for me any day of the week.

The contraversy in Philly has always seemed to me more than meets the eye. Remember Owens busted his butt last year to come back and play in the Super Bowl. Defied the odds! And was THE best player on the field that Sunday! .. It was always my opinion that Owens was pissed at McNabb because the QB indeed was gasses at the end of the game and didn’t prepare for the game with a full heart (sure looked it). Owens who put his all into playing felt underminded by McNabb’s “we got here without him” comment before the Super Bowl, and was only more fuiled by McNabb’s lousy play. McNabb cost the Eagles a ring .. that is plain and simple. …. and I am not trying to make excuses for Owens. In reality I think some of the things he does is a huge distraction to the rest of the guys in the locker room. In this feud though, his anger is justified, his actions are not.

….. Owens a Cowboy? In the end it would come down to one thing, and only one thing. Does Parcells believe he can collar Owens actions? … But if you ask me if Owens was any smart Dallas would be his choice. Kill two birds with one stone? Literally one bird, an Eagle!! Slight the Eagle’s franchise and play for their arche nemisis. Then what better way to silence his critics but to win a Super Bowl!! Win a Super Bowl with the Cowboys!! Philly hasn’t ever won a Super Bowl … boy that would be sweet revenge for the player named T.O.!!

T.O IS JOKE!! ID BE PISSED IF WE WOULD EVER CONSIDER BRINGING HIM IN. ID RATHER HAVE ROSS VERBA THEN TBLOW

I say we atleast bring him in for an ass-whooping…err I mean’t “tryout” lol

EricR,
You have to kidding me, T.O slams the 49ers organization, slams the 49er offensive coordinator, balks at a trade to the Ravens after his own agent forgot to file for free agency, Mcnabb goes to bat for T.O to get him to the Eagles, then T.O bitches about his contract when he’s one of the top three paid wideouts in the game, slams his Qb after the superbowl, about him being tired, which by the way is nonsense, Slams the eagles organization for not redoing a 7 year contract one year into it,when the union said to him, dont sign that deal, but he did anyway,says he’s going to hold out for a new deal Slams the eagle organization for not celebrating his 100 Td reception, said that bret Favre would be a better QB and that the team would be 7-0 if Favre was the QB, gets into fights with other teammates, and you want this fool on your team, cmon.

By the way, T.O has just been suspended for the year..

Mr. Bill,

Thanks for the info. So glad one of us can forgive and forget.

If memory serves me correctly, the 97 Broncos played some very close games on the road in the playoffs that year. A tough tough road they created for themselves. To me they were the best team that year, but regular season miscues cost them a bye, and that just made their goal more difficult. They could have lost two of those three AFC playoff games easily. … Winning (probably) 2 playoff games on the road, in hostile environments, will be tough for anyone. If the Boys make a goal for the second half, it should be win the division and get a bye. A bye, by your info, increases your chances to play in the Super Bowl by over 70. To win the Big Show? Teams with a bye won 93 of the Super Bowls and 1 team won without a bye, and as I said, that was a very tough road, and the Broncos could have easily lost.

Lets go Cowboys … get that bye!!

Rafael:
Aren’t you distorting the Colts’ rankings on both sides?
The Colts toughest opponent seemed to be the Jaguars, who survived the Texans yesterday, and who lost to the Rams last week.
The Colts didn’t look invincible against the Rams, either, and that game went sideways within a couple of plays in a couple of minutes with 1.) Cato June’s interception and 2.) James’s non-fumble.

WHERE DID YOU HEAR T.BLOW WAS suspended for the year?

The only way Owens would play for Parcells, I think, is if: he kept comments to the press brief, vanilla and pre-scripted; he agrees to get mental therapy and continue with it through his tenure… no. now that I think of it, the Cowboys can’t afford him and would never bring him in.
And now that I think of it further, teams and defenses win championships, not WRs. It would be assinine to bring aboard a 33 year old WR who wants to be the highest paid player in the NFL. Most of his team mates will want to crack his jaw at the slightest provocation. Fans will HATE him. “Media Frenzy” will take on new dimensions.

It’s a bad move. If it were Marvin Harrisson I would say it’s a bad move. Too old, too expensive, no young QB to grow with. We did this with Joey Galloway, and it crushed the franchise. Right player at the wrong time. It would tie up too much money and would put the Cowboys where the Eagles were last year and are this year and where the Redskins are every year… in a must-win-the-super-bowl-this-season mode where your players are great, but expensive and getting too old. No need to mortgage the future to win only today.

The money that TO would want would pay for a franchise RT and FB who would make everyone else on offense significantly more productive. McNabb had to have TO, his WRs stunk. We have Glenn, Crayton, Key and Price. TO is a little better than all of them, but not to a degree that makes his acquisition a smart deal – Unless – we sign and trade him to Oakland (i want to see him play with Moss) for a #1 pick or two in the offseason.

Talking about TO on the Cowboys is fun but silly.

NEVERMIND,I READ IT ON ESPN.COM

it has been reported on ESPN. T.O has been suspended for the year, and will no doubt be cut after the season. Its the same deal as KJ in Tampa, T.O will get paid for all but four games, but will never play for the Eagles again.

AP reported Andy Reid said TO is out for the year.

Derrick,

He busts his butt. Period!!

Of course, like I said, it would have to go right with Parcells. Me? I can deal with some distractions, as long as the guy gives 100% on the field. Stupid “temper tantrum” penalties and not giving 100% are far worse than off-the-field comments. Keyshawn wrote a book slamming his team .. but he played on, and Parcells collared his actions. You don’t see Keyshaw “throw me the damn ball” Johnson slamming his teammates anymore. Key was given up for dead after TB too. Guess what he has revived his career under Parcells again. … Like any person acting foolishly, Parcells, if interested, will bring him in, tell him what he expects from him, and ask T.O. if he can handle Parcells’ rules. One thing I have noticed about Parcells is the players respect knowing what to expect. I am quite sure there are a lot of coaches in the NFL that “distort the truth” to get their way or others that don’t lay down the ground rules before they sign a player. Some coaches even treat certain players differently. Parcells is fair, and gives the players the knowledge of what to expect froim him. Can’t ask for more than that. … If Parcells meets with Owens and tells him, “I don’t tolerate this this and that, and here is what will happen if ANY player breaks these rules.” Its up to Parcells and Owens to create the ground rules. But Owens will know exactly what to expect, the respect earned from knowing that seems to be a calming agent for these high strung players. But make no mistake about it, a player that prepares and goes out at 100% week in and week out, like TO does, is welcomed on my team any day. .. I doubt he will sign with Dallas unless he is committed to what Parcells wants and expects from him. So if this is the case, then we are in a win win situation.

By AP, here you go:

The outspoken star receiver was suspended for Sunday night’s 17-10 loss at Washington, and will remain suspended for three more games. After that, the Eagles plan to deactivate Owens for the rest of the season.

“The league has been notified by the players’ union that they will be grieving our right to take that action,” Reid said, “therefore there is nothing more that I can say at this point.”

Would Owens wear #88 if he were a Cowboy? He’s already got the jersey, right?

Seriously, shrewd strategy dictates that we “allow” another NFC contender to sign Owens, preferably Atlanta or the Giants. This would ensure their demise. Jones and parcells should bluff and fake an interest in signing him, if only to encourage other teams to look into signing him as well.

Owens is a CURSE- an physically gifted athlete who can’t help but destroy a team. He may get his act together and grow up some day, but it probably won’t be until his skills start to diminish.

Besides, Dallas doesn’t need TO. We have Keyshawn, Glenn, and CRAYTON.

Also, after he disrespected the star, it would be the untimate sellout, as others have already posted. I pray that Owens NEVER wins a Superbowl, and therefore, he cannot come to Dallas.

i know this has no relation to this article but i just wanted to state that a very improved and probably overachieving player on our young defense is 3rd year LB Scott Shanle. Just a thought.

Our team is full of players that bust their butts, but dont have the Drama to go along with it. I think we’ve seen over the last few years what happens to a team that has malcontents on it, The derek Ross, Kareem Larimore,Antonio Bryants, etc, where did those players get this team,huh. I’m asumming that you have never coached before, if you treat each player different, you end up with a split team, T.O wants to play by his own rules, come and go when ever he wants, doesn’t want to talk to caoches unless he talks to them first.He’s a selfish player that will play by his own rules, Bill said it before, he doesn’t have time for players like that anymore, and I agree, T.O is an idiot and he’s going to get what he deserves.

Now that he’s finished for the year, can he be dropped as a ‘subject’…please?
I’d rather see an espn feature on Marc Columbo’s knee.

T.gO. is what their fans get for cheering when Mike lay motionless on the frozen turf at Veterans Stadium, wondering if he’ll ever walk again.

Andy Reid did the smart thing. The Eagles will now be a better team.

When’s the last time the Eagles lost three in a row?

My problem with T. O. coming to the Cowboys is we are
such a young team.Do you really want to take a chance
on his influence with the younger playersDoes the coaching
staff need to dedicate time to keeping him in line?Philly has a
alot of veterans and they still couldn’t handle him.He
reportedly got in a fist fight with Hugh Douglas.He needs
to go to a team with a guy like Ray Lewis who will be able
to keep him in line.

Rich,

Best arguement for why not … we don’t need him. I was going to write the same.

Lee,
Here some tidbits from an article on Columbo.

Head coach Bill Parcells showed confidence in his own ability to analyze personnel when talking about the signing of Marc Columbo, formerly of the Chicago Bears. He saw something, he thinks, that the Bears might have missed, and his track record suggests that he has a knack for salvaging veterans off other teams’ waiver lists.

“I’ve done it before, and if you like, I can enumerate those for you,” Parcells said. “I did it with Johnnie Cooks, Keith Byars, Vinny Testaverde and you might even say with Drew Bledsoe.”

He added that Columbo, a former first-round pick by Chicago out of Boston College, has the ingredients to be another reclamation success.

“He’s a young man who had a very unfortunate knee injury” while with the Bears, Parcells said. “It prevented him from lifting weights with his legs for quite a while. But I’ve known that he’s a bright guy, a tough kid.”

Parcells said that his expectations for Columbo do not necessarily include immediate production on the field.

"I told him when he got here, ’don’t look at this like we need you in a week-and-a-half. Look at it like we might need you down the road. We might need you in the offseason,’ " Parcells said. "What that does is it takes a little pressure off, knowing that we’re not going to judge him right away.

“He’s been training. He’s been on it for four or five months, but that’s not enough. You really need to be on it for about a year-and-a-half. The thing I like about him is that there’s not a lazy bone in his body.”

Starstruck,

That was one of the worst displays by a crowd ……i
hope that was the start of a "curse"for Philly that lasts a
long ,long time.

TO is still the 2nd best WR in the game and will help what ever team he ends up on. I don’t want him on this team because we already have two old WRs. He would be a good fit for Atl.

StarStruck
Good point that’s why I didn’t want the eagles to loose last night. They are going to have their best game next monday night.

I think TO is the best receiver in the game. Better than moss because of his ability to make plays over the middle, which I’ve yet to see Moss do.

Signing TO would be tantamount to someone trying a taste of spoiled milk after they just saw thier friend spit it out; making a sour face.

Derrick,

Comparing Owens to the afore mentioned group is not fair. These players you mention are no-bodies, never were, never will be.

I still see it as a win win, IF the Cowboys are interested. If Parcells meets with Owens, I think they will both get a real good idea of what to expect from one another, so if we end up inking him, I would expect a player that understands to let his play do his talking. … I just think if TO is the “me me I I I player” then he is much much more likely to sign with a team that says “we are so glad to have you” (while collectively holding their breathes) than to sign with the Cowboys, were ground rules WILL BE laid out, and he would know what to expect. .. Parcells is a no nonsense guy! He at some point in their first conversation will say … this is how it is, if you can’t handle it then we don’t want you here. To win Parcells over, Owens at some point will have to say something like, “Coach I want to play for you. What you say goes .. I want to be a Cowboy.” … There is an easy way to butter Owens up, and see what he is made of. I can picture Parcells telling him, “What you did last year, all the efford and time you put into getting ready to play, I can appriciate that. But son I won’t tolerate (this stuff and that stuff). We don’t tolerate that here. Can you play without that?” At that point Owens will either be rebelious to the corrective critisism, and say, “No thanks”, or he will be humbled in front of his new coach and say something to show his dedication to the coach and team. …. There is just something about knowing what to expect!!

Hey I am not saying go out and sign him. I am saying we have probably the best self evaluator, and probably the best analyst of personel in the NFL. Parcells, in my opinion, will know if he can curb TO’s off field stuff. So the situation is WIN if we sign him, because he is a great talent that Parcells believes he can collar. I trust in Bill ability to lay down the ground rules for players … it just seems to work very well. His tract record is very very good!

TO is the best WR in the NFL currently.

However, he might be the worst teammate in team sports ever. He attacks his QBs……Garcia and McNabb both pro bowl QBs mind you……..he runs his mouth to the media……..and he is a me first guy. Are you guys forgetting who his agent is? Drew Rosenhaus the self proclaimed Jerry McGuire……….at least he has the SHOW ME THE MONEY DOWN PAT. Well guess what don’t look for Jerry and Bill to be calling Drew anytime soon.

My guess is the Eagles will cut him in March and he will carry his act down to Atlanta. I think Arthur Blank will make him sign an agreement to keep his trap shut and Jim Mora Jr will have found the WR he wants to team with Vick. Junior had respect for TO in SF and would take a chance on him. I doubt the Eagles would get much offered for trades…….and I am hoping they just cut him outright.

Looking at next weeks schedule maybe a Brad Johnson led Vikes can beat up on the Gmen………and a Greiseless Bucs team can get on track against the Deadskins.

If so and we do our biz in Philly look who will be in first place in the NFC East. You guessed it the Boys.

The 2nd half of our season looks pretty tough. Carolina, Denver, and KC. Luckily we got Denver and KC at home. We need to win out the crucial NFC games……..and we might even be in shape for a bye week ourselves.

EricR,
Three teams tried that same approach, it doesn’t work. How many times do you have to be hit in the head, before you either move or put on a helmet. You got one thing right, talking to T.O is like talking to a child, thats what he is and he will never grow up.He doesn’t understand the word NO, so No I dont want him on this team.
T.(otally) O.(utrageous). = CANCER

Anyone think that the play of Scott Shanle has been a great surprise. I guess that is why Dat Nguyen doesn’t mind that those youngsters get more play than him if it is helping the team win. Anyone out there worried about what might happen next year. I know alot fo us talked about Glover and Ellis sticking around this year but do any of you think they will be expendable with the play of Spears, Canty, Ratliff, Ferguson, and even the high hopes of Thomas “Pepper” Johnson. I personally think that Ellis might be traded and Glover will still be on the team. I would hope that we could keep all of these guys because they are producing for this team but it is the NFL and changes do happen that you might not expect. I say with one more draft this team will definitely be favored for a SB run. What do you all think.

Cash
Moss is the best period last year he was hurt this year he is hurt and he still puts up TDs. I see TO get single covered in a lot of games I don’t see that with Moss. Look at Moss’s old QB last year 39 TD. If all moss can do is go deep he wouldnt put up those numbers every year.

LiLbeast,

I thought Shanle would be a good player for us after I watched him lead the team in tackles in a four game stretch at the end of last year, I dont know if Glover will be back next year, I think he’s a free agent after this year,and might want to cash in a on one last big contract which I dont think he’ll get here, but I think Ells will be back one more year. We still need alot of players on the d-line to keep the rotation and keep the players fresh for the end of games.

“Whenâ€â"¢s the last time the Eagles lost three in a row?”
StarStruck, I don’t know the last time, but the next time will be 14 November 2005.

lee,

I’m with ya there.

Jon,

I picked Carolina to go to the Super Bowl, so I probably am underrating them a bit. But I’m suprised that their defense is ranked so low. We’ll learn a lot about them playing them later on.

Lee,

I’m not distorting the stats. They are what they are. If you mean I’m not weighting them, well yes, I’m not. But I don’t think you can weight until the season is at least three quarters done.

Joey2zs,

I don’t have a problem with his age. The Packers got Andre Rison late in the season after the Colts cut him in ’96. He joined a banged up wide receiving corps, was a boy scout the rest of the way, and got a Super Bowl ring.

The problem I have with considering T.O. is this — if you sign him, you’re putting either Keyshawn or Glenn on the bench. These guys have busted their asses from day one and are having very good seasons. You want to tell team players they’re suddenly not good enough? And think of the domino effect, Price sits and pouts, Keyshawn probably sits and stews and then when Crayton is ready to come back, he’s on the bench while Keyshawn is playing out of position.

You don’t fix what isn’t broken. The receivers are not a problem or a need right now. If Lavar Arrington were cut, then yeah, I’d think real hard about it, but not T.O.

Does anyone know if JJ has practiced yet? As far as I know, he was supposed to practice Friday, but didn’t I never heard about Saturday.
.

I think it is a toss up between Freeney and Peppers as to who is the best DE. One thing for sure though Carolina has a serious pass rush and is tough regardless of where the stats have em.

The bad thing about Carolina is Jake ain’t even been playing all that great……if he gets hot and their D stays the same they could be much better come playoff time or later in the season when we face em.

I agree we should find out about them and a good test in Denver also. Although Denver at home is better than on the road.

Derrick,

The other part of the win win situation is if he doesn’t (understand?) like the word ‘NO’, then I don’t think there is a shot in hell that we sign him. The best arguement here is, we simply don’t need him.

AW and Cash,

Moss shortens up a lot across the middle.

Now you talk about antics? Nothing hurts a team’s confidence in a player, a supposed to be leader if you will, more than the player for no apparent reason telling the media that he gives up on plays, and walks off the field before a game is over. At least Owens gives it his all, and his apparent rage is due partially because he wants to win so badly.

Its a close call between the two. Best deep threat = Moss. Best threat across the middle = Owens. Guy I want on my team = Steve Smith. Boy he is just tough as $h!!

Quincy Carter is on the ticket right now. Here’s the link,

http://www.theticket.com/listen.htm

Foos

I’m not sure what you’re saying but they haven’t lost three consecutive games this century. I just confirmed at the Eagles website that the last time was 1999, Reid’s & McNabb’s rookie year. They have lost two in a row three times during their tenures, in 2000, 2003 & 2004. I hope the Cowboys can break that cycle, of course, and deal them a third loss but I’m not going to wager anything on it.

What’s he saying on there Derrick?

he wont answer the questions on whether he was cut because of drugs,or whether he’s in the NFL drug program, said he was offered a contract by a couple of teams, but didn’t sign because he’s working on himself.Yeah, right. Excuse after excuse, He is pathetic.

lol…sounds like it…

Instead of worrying about signing another WR when our passing attack is looking the best and balanced it has in a decade (basically since Novacek went down and we entered the TE revolving door era), I would rather JJ and BP focus their efforts on signing a dominant FULLBACK so we can get our running game back to the form it was in the early days of Emmitt Smith’s and Tony Dorsett’s careers.

Emmitt had Daryl Johnston, and TD had Robert Newhouse…both were league leading rushers, and with those bulldozers clearing linebackers out of the running lanes for them #22 and #33 became the dominant tailbacks that they were. Additionally, both Moose and Newhouse were capable of catching a key pass in the flat for a first down or a touchdown flare pass while the opponents’ defense keyed on the more marquee skill positions.

I see that position as one of the last pieces of the puzzle (along with another OT & true FS) that stands between these Cowboys and another Super Bowl ring. If BP could get a really strong FB in the mold of Cory Schlesinger or Mike Alstott, it would do more to help this team than upgrading any other position. I would take that any day over a headcase wide receiver.

Rafael:
I just meant that the Colts seem to have played a schedule of lighter weight opponents, compared to the Steelers and Broncos and Chargers(for example).

Rafael-

I do agree with your idea about Lavar Arrington if he were to become available in the offseason (I very much doubt Gibbs would be dumb enough to cut him during the season). If the Cowboys were to sign a FA player from a division rival, I would much rather a defensive player than an offensive player. Just imagine the hits he would deliver on his old teammates twice a year.

Folks,

Can the Cowboys run the ball on the eagles? THey stopped portis, but Denver ran all over them.

Can we pass on their secondary again? We did it once, you can be sure they won’t let the same plays trick them again.

I think we win this one if our offense can out up 17 points.

This just in:

The International Brotherhood of Ass Clowns has just released a statement saying that, while they generally uphold others’ perceived obligations to engage the world with all sorts of meaningless gestures, senseless bravado, verbal self-puffery, and self-destructive behavior, the Brotherhood objects to being paired by the media with Terrell Owens, as his recent continuing antics “create a false negative impression of ass clowns worldwide.”

I think this is a game we should win now with all thats going on in the Eagle organization, but we have to come out strong and open it up like we did the first game we played them, dont let them hang around and play mistake football.

cowboy bert.

LMFAO!!!

I would love to see them play a good grind it out, smack Philly in the mouth type of road game. I hope we can keep Philly to under 12 -14 points.

You all know who looks great and is a ferocious beast? Shawne Merriman. That guy is an unholy terror. He’s HUGE and plays with abandon. 6’4" 277lbs Shame he didn’t drop back to Spears’ spot.
But, I watch him and I think I see why Parcells didn’t get him. He’s covered in tats and has got what some may consider a difficult attitude. He and Ware are different in many of ways. Ware is more cerebral, he’s a really sweet guy, he’s more of an “athlete” than Merriman. He’s also got significantly greater upside than Merriman, and is already playing all downs in all situations.

Also, Jammer stinks. We really dodged a bullet there. I bet Jones talked him up pre-draft to inflate his value so Roy would fall to us.

Sterling, I agree with you. A top notch fullback would do wonders for this team’s offensive production.

aw,

All Moss does is go deep, if you think otherwise I suggest you actually watch him play. He does not have the size to be physical with defensive backs the same way Owens does, and I would say that Owens is probably just as fast at this point in their careers.

i had to read that post about not wanting marvin harrison in dallas a couple of times to believe it…he, imo is the best receiver in the nfl despite his size..he can catch the screen, intermediate and deep ball..talk about a deep threat to go along w/ glenn..but anyway, spending over 5mil a yr on a WR next year doesnt seem possible or reasonable to me if key and t glenn keep playing this way…

Randy Moss is as fast as any WR in the leauge. He just looks slow cuz he has a long stride……..he regularly goes by the best CBs in the league. There aren’t a lot of guys with his height and speed. He is truly a freak of nature. Now he has had some injuries mostly last year, but TO ain’t a speedster like Moss.

Now is he the best WR no………he don’t block, he doesn’t run short routes or slants…….he won’t go across the middle………he runs the deep outs………but he is as good at that as anybody in the league.

I ain’t even sure Randy Moss is the best WR on his team, I would take Jerry Porter over Moss. However, don’t kid yourself into thinking Randy is slow……….he will blow past you in a cloud of smoke. And yeah it might be some Ricky Williams smoke…….but the cat can still flat out fly!

If you want to listen to the entire interview with Quincy Carter on the ticket from the Hardline show, here’s the link, Just a reminder, Quincy makes a complete fool of himself.

http://www.amfmpodcast.com/PodCast/HardlineQcarinterview1.mp3

http://www.amfmpodcast.com/PodCast/HardlineQcarinterview2.mp3

i would take moss’s 2 catches for 250 yds and 3 tds anyday over j. porter…and i listened to quincy “well, uhhh…” carter’s interview and it was sad…no one should waste their time w/ it…i thought the guys were a little hard on him though…he always seemed like a good kid to me.

after tonight the two Super Bowl teams from last year might well both be 4-4………I ain’t shedding a tear for either one of em!

Joey2z……..go look at film of Heath Miller putting your man Merriman on his but in ACC action. Also he got burned for a long pass on Sunday……..I think Ware will be the better player. Merriman’s other problem………his agents are the Postons……..the only thing worse than Drew Rosenhaus is a Poston. I think Drew is behind TOs behavior. He has him in his stable but he ain’t got paid yet so you know he is the one looking for more money. I don’t get TO wanting more money he signed a 48 mil deal.

Oh well……..

Quincy Carter interview? It went like this……..

How you doing Q?

Q: Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhewwwwwwwwww hang on a minute I dropped the roach

Interviewer: You want me to step on a Roach?

Q: Nah Man, don’t you b steppin on my Roach!

Interviewer: So Q you got a pet roach? What’s his name?

Q: Man you a damn fool……..hang on while hit this J!

Interviewer. You are going to hit your pet roach, whose name is Jay?

Q: Nah Man, hang on let me put away the bong before your camera crew comes in here.

Interviewer. Is that real marijuana? I never seen so much.

Q: Man come on now, you ain’t seen Big Nate rolling across the borda then. You know Big Nate got lots of ganja.

Interviewer. Ganja……..is it for medicinal purposes only Q.

Q: Yeah man it helps with my Bi Polar Mood disorder, it also keeps me at one with the Earth……….Man you know kinda like Ricky.

Interviewer. I see you mind if I take a hit.

Q: Man you gotta get your own bro, I am unemployed you know what I am saying man. I can sell you a little dime bag if you want. Or I can call Big Nate for a Glad Bag full.

Interviewer. Man you got any Blunts around here.

Q: Of course Money, I got some Phillies right over here. They even got a picture of Donovan McNabb and personally autographed. You know me and that cat went to elementry schools and told da kids to stay off the blo.

Interviewer: What about weed?

Q: Nah man, weed don’t hurt you man just ask Ricky. He led the league in Rushing while lighting it up! Bob Marley wrote a lot of cool tunes while lighting it up, and you know I think we need to DRUG TEST the coaches cuz I got it on the sly that a few of down are down with some bong hits. You know Mike Tice and me we got high and sold our Super Bowl tickets on eBay. It was a trip! He is a cool cat that guy. I think I would be a good fit for him. Now that Daunte is hurting, you know Daunte probably needs some medicinal marijuana too. Maybe we should call him up.

Interviewer. Man that blunt was good. You got any Pink Floyd.

Q: Who?

Interviewer. Pink Floyd…….the band…….you know Dark side of the Moon.

Q: I can show you a dark side of a moon! But you know you gotta pay me something.

Interviewer: No thanks Q, never mind I I am getting outta here. Tell Mike Tice I said hello.

Q: Peace out bro. Thanks for the interview. Hey you know I played baseball too…….but I ain’t never done no roids. You know cuz that junk is bad for ya man. Look what it done did to Conseco.

Interviewer: Whatever Q………good luck with your job.

Q: Peace out man, yeah the car wash is cool. You know they don’t drug test me man, and i get free windex.

Interviewer. Yeah I am happy for you. Well best of luck.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! NO TO on my team!!!! Don’t even compare Keyshawn to TO. Apples and oranges. Keyshawn has never been a bad apple for BP. You’d be an idiot to think that TO will ever change. He is cancer, plain and simple. The best way to deal with cancer is to cut it out, not invite it in.

The Eagles are fools to have signed TO in the first place. He single handedly may have brought that team down. Serves em right. The Ravens dodged a huge bullet. We’d be crazy to step in front of it.

I can’t believe any Cowboy fan would even consider wanting TO.

How soon some forget the disrespect in the Star celebration. Any respectful Cowboy fan never forgives that.

He stands against everything this team has been working hard to accomplish. Teamwork and High character guys. How many times have you heard Parcells make that statement about high character guys. Even Jeff Ireland has stated one of his cues from Parcells in scouting talent was to find talented High Character guys.

Owens is the anti-christ of high character. It really makes me sick to my stomach to even hear a Cowboy fan mention his name in regards to playing for us.

I guess some of you guys can’t wait to hear him slamming Bledsoe in the media every week. Go ask his last two QB’s (Garcia and McNabb) how they got along with him. Geez.

i agree w/ the last poster…no respectful cowboy fan would want this jacka$$ after how he has disrespected us since he has been in the league…also, let’s look at his two teams he has played for and what has happened to them since…call it coincidence, but the niners have become the worst team in the league, and the eagles go from the class of the nfc to middle of the pack…could one man bring a whole organization down? i wouldnt put it past someone like TO. luckily, the eagles still have mcnabb and westbrook, along w/ a decent secondary…the people that would like to have TO are like people who believe riches are the most important thing in life…each are the root of evil

Owens is the plague, plain and simple. He’s a self-centered toxin who represents everything that is wrong with the league. I’m glad young people and kids get to see what’s happening to Owens. Hopefully this teaches them how NOT to be an athlete.

For Dallas to sign T.O. would be heresy. He doesn’t deserve to be a Cowboy. He’s no Irvin. Irvin was the heart and soul of his team; Owens is the ass and mouth of his.

Any organization that signs him is either desperate or stupid, or both. He’ll bring down any team that takes him… I hope he signs with the Giants.

Hey Jon, how could Shawne Merriman be beaten for a long touchdown? He’s a monolithic OLB, not a DB. If he’s covering someone more than a few yards off the line, the Chargers are mixed up. He usually comes out on passing downs. Heath Miller (who I"m a huge fan of, easily the equal of Witten, perhaps even a more physical blocker) may have bettered him in college at some point, but did you see Merriman come down the line to CRUSH Curtis Martin?
I don’t even remember Merriman playing at Maryland. I watched most of UVA’s games, and I can’t recall the announcers going into detail about him. I don’t remember the DC sports press talking much about Merriman. They do nowadays about D’Qwell Jackson, who is a physical freak but still a really raw ball player.

I love the way BP keeps his guys focused. Did anyone see that the Cowboys brought in 4 guys for workouts today? The players may feel like its an off week until they realize BP is looking to upgrade everyday. That sets a good tone in my mind for this week.

You guys that are down on Polite need to give him a chance to develop. He is a 1st year player and BP has said some nice things about him. I’m not saying he’s going to be DJ but he looks pretty good to me. BP also said he was the strongest guy on the team and has a good work ethic.

Okay, I want to recant my overrating of the Patriots.

That defense is not anywhere close to playoff caliber, never mind
Super Bowl. N.E.’s secondary has collapsed.

Joey2z,

watch the tape…….I saw a long pass to a TE that Merriman was covering.

Heath Miller put him on his but in college. You are right Miller is like Witten a pass catching TE not Dan Campbell or Larry Allen but Heath Miller put the 280 lb LB on his but!

The fact that you watch ACC football and don’t remember Merriman names being called should tell you something. The guy is a beast don’t get me wrong, but his holdout act and his agents put him in bad company in my book.

He might be one of the better atheletes to come out of Maryland since the Manster………half man half monster Randy White…….but I ain’t rootin for the guy. I have not heard his own coach compare him to Lawrence Taylor or Derek Brooks something Marty did say about Demarcus Ware. Had we taken Merriman Marty would have gladly taken Ware. I for one think we got the better player and it ain’t got nothing to do with tatoos.

Rafael,

Pats are just too beat up. It is nice to see the chinks in the armor finally showing up on them though. Still in the AFC East they will probably win their division and go to the playoffs and who knows they are still a good football team. Unlike the Eagles at least they made the most of their postseason runs. There was a NE fan in here wishing Bledsoe well and hoping for a Cowboys Pats Super Bowl…….at this point I am thinnking the Cowboys will get back to the Bowl before the pats! Dillon is looking pedestrian and aged, they got the Cowboys corners of the pre Henry and Newman years…….a revolving door on one side and inexperience on the other. Hard to win without some decent corners. I for one am loving the Anthony Henry pickup, I was like who is that when I first saw what we paid him………but compare him to Champ, Ty, Smoot, or anybody else in the league I take Henry after watching him play. Newman is manning up as well………as is the rest of our D………..time to go beat the Owensless Beagles………..again!!!

Eagles lose a few more games Andy Reid is going to have a mutiny on his hands. Guys are going to say why did we fire TO? He is going to be in the media and a nightmare with all that time on his hands.

Jon,

Nah, one thing that team is united on is that TO had to go. They’ll never question getting him out of there. No one in the world will ever question why they got rid of him.

I love hearing you guys talk about the star and deserving to be here. Playing for the Cowboys is a privilege. You have to deserve it. Too much class went before you, and Jerry and Bill have been trying to bring the class back. I really think they have. Can anyone name a bad apple on our team? TGlenn and Keyshawn had their moments previously, but first class with us. I still hear people talking about the Boys being thugs, but they obviously haven’t followed them for years.

let em keep losing………and that whole team will come unglued. Notice they got Westbrook under a long term contract before all this happened.

You won’t hear other WRs that are now playing complain……..and TO or NO the eagles don’t have a running game…………any QB in the league asked to pass 50 times is going to get beat up and hurt. Hech even two of the best Dan Fouts and Dan Marino had a hard time doing it. I don’t put Donovan in that category that they were in……..not yet anyway.

While they may be united now let them keep losing. I think the wheels are falling off the Eagles bus and they are definitely on the backside of success. Too bad philly fans looks like ya’ll missed another opportunity again! LOL!

and here’s to hoping those Panthers cheerleaders are at the club on Dec 24 while I am in Charlotte. Gotta love those Carolina Girls……..

If Terrell Owens signed his $49 million last year with one agent, then fired him and signed Drew Rosenhaus, who then promptly tried to get him a huge new contract, which failed, does that mean Rosenhaus doesn’t get anything, since agents usually make a % of the contracts they negotiate?

Beat that for a run-on sentence.

Are we seriously considering T.O.? I don’t think Parcells is dumb enough to bite on an opertunity with T.O. ON THE OTHER HAND…Jerry Jones is dumb enough to sign T.O., he went after Dieon Sanders didn’t he????

forget that fool go to the eagles site and vote for the pro bowl get as many cowboys as you can

Lee,

Now that heâ€â"¢s finished for the year, can he be dropped as a â€â"¢subjectâ€â"¢Ã¢â‚¬Â¦please?

Good luck with that! Love him or despise him, Owens will remain a prime topic of discussion until he signs with some team, probably in March. I suspect several fist fights to be generated on this blog as to whether or not the Cowboys should sign him.

Derrick,

… I dont know if Glover will be back next year, I think heâ€â"¢s a free agent after this year,and might want to cash in a on one last big contract which I dont think heâ€â"¢ll get here, but I think Ells will be back one more year. …

Glover is under contract through 2006. Ellis, through 2009.

I don’t see their contracts preventing a trade, but I don’t see one happening either … for either player.

BlueCheese,

If Terrell Owens signed his $49 million last year with one agent, then fired him and signed Drew Rosenhaus, who then promptly tried to get him a huge new contract, which failed, does that mean Rosenhaus doesnâ€â"¢t get anything, since agents usually make a % of the contracts they negotiate?

Absolutely! Owens contract with the Eagles was negotiated by his previous agent, who receives all proceeds from it, until a new one is drawn up and signed.

Rosenhaus persuaded Owens to switch with the promise of getting a better contract, and has done everything he could to get the Eagles to either renegotiate or cut Owens loose. The Eagles wouldn’t play along. They will release Owens after this season, to avoid that roster bonus coming in March. But, in the meantime, Owens is going to miss out on 4 game checks, because of the suspension. It also seems like the Eagles have firm grounds to demand repayment of a large portion of the original signing bonus, because of clauses related to suspension for ‘conduct detrimental to the team’. [An article at ProFootballTalk.com addresses this issue.]

Good luck to Owens in trying to recoup that lost money in his next contract. Of course, Rosenhaus won’t care. Whatever contract he can wheedle out of some team will give him a percentage of something, which is better than the percentage of nothing he is currently getting.

Madcowboy,

Does anyone know if JJ has practiced yet? As far as I know, he was supposed to practice Friday, but didnâ€â"¢t I never heard about Saturday.

Jones did not participate in the early portion of practice on Saturday, which was witnessed by reporters. While they were there, they saw Jones doing resistance work on the sidelines. Players have claimed that he did participate in the later portion, which was not viewed by reporters. Since no one from the media saw Jones practice, none of them can comment on how much he did or on how good he looked, and Parcells hasnâ€â"¢t had a press conference since then.

Jones is dumb enough to sign TO, but luckily Bill Parcells has some say on the purse strings…………I cook the meals, I want to buy the Groceries Bill ain’t putting a TO in his shopping cart………trust me on that one.

Other owners that might be “dumb enough” Dan “Give you washed up Free Agents” Snyder………..Al “Just Win Baby” Davis……….Arthur “I can write in Blank Check” Blank………with a tough stipulation for TOs mouth.

Gruden needs some playmakers down in the TB for his offense.

Houston……….fires the entire front office……..hires Mike Martz………who fires the offensive line and decides TO is the right fit for David Carr. He also trades for Charles Rogers and Koren Robinson.

The cast of characters goes by the names of Dopey (mr. rogers), Sleepy(drunk Koren Robinson), Grumpy (TO) and David Carr goes by the name Snow White. No word on whether ESPN will allow the names to be used or if it will infringe on a Disney Patent.

How lame is ESPN…..a simulated baseball press conference? Get a life ESPN……….whoever thought that up should get fired. Didn’t yall notice nobody watched the world series anyway. This is football season and they are determined to talk about pro basketball, baseball and hockey. Give it a rest, you mediots. America loves one sport and that is professional football.

Mr. Bill, thanks for the answer.

High ankle sprains take at least 6 weeks to recover. Today, JJ has been recovering for a little over 4 weeks. I’m concerned BP is pushing him back too soon. JJ is not a power back. His game will rise and fall to the extent he can cut sharply on that ankle.

JJ is our best back, but only if he’s 100. If he’s not 100, then MBIII should continue to take the carries.

Jon,

“Jones is dumb enough to sign TO???” Huh?

What is up with that?

We are so lucky to have Jones as our owner, it is pathetic how we throw this guy under the bus at ever opportunity. This guy is every cities dream NFL owner. I am amazed people here just don’t get it.

Does anyone else know where I can find those Quincy Carter clips? I tried downloading them from the links that Derrick posted but they aren’t working anymore.

Thanks in advance!

Daniel,

Try this link,

http://www.theticket.com/podcast.asp#podcast

hey guys,

I don’t mean to start a rumor cause it’s not it’s true!Well my friend works at midevil times in dallas on I-35,and she was serving Drew Bledsoe she said he was drinking from the minute he walked in and after that he told her to keep the drinks coming and he just got wasted at midevil times.Granted i’m glad he didnt make an a** out of himself,but honestly when your a cowboys star or the QB of the americas team you dont do that in public,If he drinks thats his own buisness,but atleat keep it behind the scenes.I don’t think he understands what it means being a dallas cowboys QB,cause you not just a QB!your the QB for america’s team!I’m not saying Troy Aikman is an angel but atleast he kept it behind the scenes,but like i said fortunate he didn’t make an a** out of himself in public because the man was wasted at midevil times,(Yeah i know its hard to believe but its true!)this is not a rumor to diminsh his reputation,cause i like Drew Bledsoe,but i think it was wromg of him to do that in public risking in tarnishing his image but a something he should have not done.Which is getting wasted at midevil times(I hope thats the last time that ever happens)

Jesse,

Give me a break, this is completely unsubstantiated rumor mongering crap at its worse. Anytime a friend tells a friend anything about a celebrity, the facts are exaggerated if true at all.

rha,

It is true cause she doesnt even keep up with the cowboys she’s not a fan of sports but she remembers the name and she said he got snuck in behind the doors of the facility,she wouldn’t make up something like that especially not caring about sports,and on top of that dallas cowboy players go midevil times alot!including Larry Allen,Im not begging you to believe me,i just feel everyone should know

Guys,

I honestly believe the reason this thing has not made it public fast is because of the fact that he didnt make an a** out of himself cause if he did reporters would’ve made it there in a split second which is also one of the reasons he was snucked in,but like i said granted he didnt make as a** out of himself,but he still did that in public and was wrong

Cash
TO is just as fast as Moss??? You would be out of your mind if you thought that. Moss every year over 1000 yards but one two times over 100 balls. That is not just deep balls. Moss has changed how you draft WR now. Moss is a playmaker. When you can still get TD being hurt that is not deep balls. One time Moss has been under 10 TDs in a season. TO is good too but he drops more balls than moss and can be covered one on one. There is no way you can put up numbers that Moss has by just going deep. Going deep is what he does best. Moss is the highest paid WR for a reason.

Rha,

I understand what you mean about Jerry J. He dreams in his sleep about winning the Super Bowl again every night. The problem is, may be just that. He is overly ambitious and has screwed up many times in the past, over stepping his bounds. Remember the Joey Gallaway deal? We gave away way too much for that crappy deal. He has done this kind of thing over and over until BP arrived. TO would be a serious mistake. He would take the TEAM and distract it to be all about him. Watch, the eagles will start to gell now ( but we will still kick their butt)

rha,

Jones as an owner if unparalleled for the NFL, for what he has done to improve his own business which is the Dallas Cowboys. I won’t argue that.

However, he has made impulsive decisions in the past about personnel and obviously looking at our draft after Jimmy Johnson he did not know football players or hire folks that did to serve in that dept. Football wise he has shown some stupidity. Business wise he is one of the best in the business and a class act compared to most owners and staffs. You want an example of the dumb things, try Joey Galloway trade. How about Chad Hutchinson, Anthony Wright, and Quincy Carter. The verdict is still out on Romo and Henson, but Carter was a 2nd round choice.

However, I give Jones a lot of credit for A Hiring Parcells and B giving Bill the authority in the draft. I doubt we will hear Jerry Jones saying he can get Barry Switzer to coach these Cowboys again because of all the talent he has on the team. That my friend was dumb! Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey and Dave Campo the revolving door at head coach that none of them were qualified for. Hech Barry still thinks he was just getting great seats along the sidelines. I realized Jerry is from Arkansas and not Oklahoma but how about that Barry and Troy relationship…………yet another DUMB move!

Now luckily Dan Snyder has shown that he is just down right stupid. After going through a few pretty good coaches and some that were not he finally turned to a savy old vet himself, who might be more interested in Nascar than the NFL but hey. Al Davis has proven the Emperor’s new clothes are in fact not there at all time and time again.

As far as the business of the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys I would say Jones and his family are 2nd to none. He is classy when players were released at least on the HBO show. He was calling family memembers when a player was injured. He flew draft picks in on his private jet. The guy is a classy owner. At no point has he threatened to move the Cowboys to Little Rock. He was first in signing sponsors like Nike to a team and stadium sponsorship. He went from being a small oil man to being well a big time NFL owner and showed it was not just a hobby like the NFL used to be but a viable business. One which has grown exponentially under the assistance of owners like Jerry Jones.

However, Shante Carver, Ebeneezer Ekuban and Derek Ross don’t lie, the man ain’t exactly brilliant!

Did you catch the article today about Bledsoe?
I believe that this reporter was talking to him about the same time this SOURCE is claiming he got sauced.
Sounds to me like total BS.
How many times has someone tried to toss garbage this way about the BOys?

Burmafrd

What article?

Jesse,

Let me get this straight. Bledsoe, on his week off, goes to a restaurant and has lots of drinks.

How many of us have done that on a week off? And he didn’t curse at anybody. He didn’t get into a car accident. He had his drinks, paid his bill and went on his way.

Sounds like he behaved like a human being.

Since when is that grounds for the pillory?

Thank you, thank you and thanks again.

This crap about players is just that and it is never ending. Who could possibly survive under this scrutiny? No one knows anything for sure what happened (if anything) and to what degree and what business is it of ours anyway?

Jon and MikeA,

JJones is a great owner by anyone’s measure. especially when compared to some others. I can’t think of one I would rather have, this guy is all about winning.

He make mistakes for sure, but by being over committed and completely over dedicated if that is possible. He just did not understand the NFL as he surely does now, and who could do this thing without some mistakes?

I’ll bet he learned his lesson and regrets his past moves as much or more than we do, but on balance this guy produces.

Look at the Zone for the article.

Hey if Bledsoe goes out & gets drunk on his off-week, that is his biz! Like Raf said, it is not like he got out of control or was getting into trouble, he has every right to have a good time! Now, if it was a night or two b4 a big game & he out gettin trashed, that is different, but my guess is that Drew knows better than that!

Why would Cowboys drink at Medieval Times? Is that like a Hooters or something?

Burmafrd

Uh, which Zone would that be?

There was an article in the Dallas Morning News today on Bledsoe. Basically saying he was very much enjoying Dallas and felt very comfortable here with his family.

some mediot in Chicago is putting the Cowboys along with Denver, Atlanta, Minn, and others in the TO sweepstakes.

He actually says Dallas has two other WRs suspended by their prior employers in the NFL……..Terry Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson. The big difference here is that these two guys had both been former players of the head coach Bill Parcells. I don’t have any history of Bill and Terrel and don’t see it happening. For one why would we when we got TG and KJ not to mention maybe the young pup and possibly the brightest future in Patrick Crayton. That is a lot of divying up of balls by Drew Bledsoe. We already got one high paid FA cast off in Price, and he has yet to get much time on the field and make an impact.

Who sits if you add TO to this roster? KJ? TG? Does KJ move to TE on some downs?

I seriously doubt the Dallas Cowboys are interested in TO. I don’t see him fitting into what Bill and Jerry are trying to do or what Bill has done by mostly bringing in vets he was familiar with or his staff was familiar with.

Look at the guys he brought in that were not Parcells guys………you got Marcellus Wiley, Anthony Thomas, Eddie George………to name the disappointments and the best of breed was Rivera, and of course one Anthony Henry.

Most of the other FAs have been the Bledsoe, Glenn, Ferguson types that Bill already knows. He has history with Keyshawn……….I don’t see Andy Reid as a push over and while he ain’t quite at Bill Parcells HOF status I would argue he is a good coach………and he could not handle TO. I think TO will have to go somewhere that the staff already knows him………I say Atlanta first……….Minn maybe but they just drafted WR and are going to have to deal with the QB thing.

Oh well………in the End I hope he does go to Atlanta. He will be out of the NFC East, and he can go do his thing in the NFC South. It might make Vick a better QB and could be entertaining. I reckon we might just see him in the playoffs on our way to a Super Bowl or three. LOL!

Jon

You really want him to be in a position to trash Vick? You know he will.

When listing Jones mistakes and brilliant moves, the Deion Sanders signing falls in the brilliant move category. He was a huge part of winning two of those Super bowls. No way we win the third one with Switzer as coach if he does not have Deion take out half the field.

There is nothing wrong with the idea of, “If you can’t beat them, sign em”.

Regarding signing Owens, I think it would be a bad idea because I do not think he is simply an over competitive over egoed athlete. There seems to be something wrong with that boy.

Bad attitudes from a player who is a known pre-madonna don’t take down franchises. Living in Cap Hell takes down franchises. (The current Eagle problem has more to do with not being able to run the ball) The 49ers were well on their way down due to horrific Cap problems when the issues with Owens surfaced. The Eagles are going to eat a five years worth of bonus on next years cap. They should be able to recover quickly because they manage their cap so tightly.

To what ever team does sign him the length and terms of the contract will be critical. The Eagle contract put all the leverage on Owens side. He is going to collect 75% of this yearâ€â"¢s salary and he already collected the bonus for 7 years worth. His contract had max upfront money. To him, so what if they suspend him 4 games. He still got 90+% of his money and he is out of a situation he badly wanted out of. He wanted away from Reid and he wanted the chance to renegotiate his contract. He is getting what he wanted. There is nothing worse then an ass that has leverage over you.

What ever team that is going to sign him next year will not structure his contract with large amounts of upfront money. The contact will have a significant salary and a number of performance based escalators. With such a contract laying him off for the half a season would not cost him 5% of his money it would cost him 50%+ of the money. That will move the leverage from the player to the franchise. In such a situation he is much more likely to keep a lower profile in order to keep his money. Why would he agree to this? So that he can get a big number contract with huge performance bonuses and then his agent will be able to claim he got Owens a raise.

Now, while I am thinking like a slimy agent. Owens does have one valid point. Philly does not treat its players well. He is not the first Philly player to complain and eventually leave because they hold players to bad contracts, cut them if they are over paid and never sign their own veteran players to a market value contract. New England is also tight with money, but they treat their playersâ€â"¢ right and do it in such a way that their veteran players seldom leave all pissed off.

Personally, I think Jerry is a bit full of himself. I don’t think many NFL owners know all that much about football. (At least compared to the folks playing and coaching.) Lets face it, the only prerequisit to being an owner is having a room-full of cash. The smart ones let the professionals do their jobs. Could the boys have done better with Jerry as a head coach during the Switzer/Campo/Gailey years?
  God what a nightmare that would have been
   He buys into the “Cowboys are an Institution” waaay too much. The cowboys are a historically great organization, but they are still just a football team.

Well TO spent the night at his home fighting off reporters,having to call the police because they were all over his property,fans were throwing rocks at his house,he later ordered a pizza and the pizza delivery guy got a $5.00 tip from someone who answered the door and threw it back on the porch,supposedly TO and his agent are gonna have a big press conference today at 2 PM,that should be interesting…..

why are we as Cowboy fans talking about signing Owens? we have Johnson, Glenn, Price, and Crayton, its not gonna happen!!!…we are to concerned about our linebackers and, o-line, d-line and safeties, we dont need a reciever…Owens is a desperation move, and were not desperate, the 49ers or the…bears or dolphins might be, but not us, its not even a possibililty…besides, cmon, we dont want him on our team…really, 49ers, eagles, look at his track record…no optimistic “well parcells could straiten him out” or “if he knew up front what was expected” or “blah, blah, blah” whatever, T.O would be T.O, regardless, that Irvin jersey he put on after we bust phillys ass is the only cowboys jersey hes ever gonna wear, its not even worth discussing guys, I guarantee the thought hasnt even crossed Parcells mind, he wants players to add depth for our D, not a reciever…period…

Star,

I don’t know that for sure. Atlanta looks like the most logical and if Mora and Bland offered him a one or two year deal with incentives no big signing bonus and also incentives to keep his big mouth shut.

TO and Donavan have feuded basically since McNabb would not go to management and agree that TO needed more dough.

He is a cancer don’t get me wrong, I don’t want him. But he is as good a WR as there is in the league. Vick ain’t never had a target like that. Look at what he does with Algie Crumpler and just translate that too TO. It would be scary for that offense. Plus you think Vick is a highlight now, wait til defenses have to cover TO double teamed and worry about the legs or arms of Vick.

TO is probably going to have to pull a Keyshawn and shut up and play in his next position. I think he and Drew Rosenhaus killed his bargaining power. I mean the Eagles are outright done with him in week 9? He won’t be getting the big long term contract that he wants……..he will be a one or two year mercenary with heavy incentive contracts. He either plays and plays well or he don’t make any money.

Vick can handle himself. I also think the Atlanta Falcons might have a DE or DT or two that might tell TO when and where to shut up! Surprised the Eagles don’t……..I guess they should have left Hugh Douglas on the roster after all he is the only guy that stood up to him.

hey guys,

This is not something i heard from a reporter.In my case im the reporter cause my story is first hand not second hand from a reporter,i clearly said my friend was the waitress and she was the one handing him all the drinks he was requesting.I didnt say there is something wrong with drinking cause there isn’t,I just said we got lucky he controlled him self at midevil times and didnt make an a** out of himself like most people do,and another i just said its not rite when you have that kind of image and doing this in public,everyone knows sports atheletes have a more image resposibility to maintain it.I mean how you like it if some kid picked up an article and read that about his favorite athelete.That Drew Bledsoe went out in public and got WASTED!!not cool.I like Drew Bledsoe by all means and im the cowboys biggest fan by all means,But the dallas cowboy QB image is another story.It is a privelage to have that honor and you cant do that in public,he should’ve been like Troy if your gonna have some drinks have them at home where no one sees you,and if you wanna be in public do something nice for the commiunity show that your invovled and that you want to earn the city’s respect,and i’m not putting him at Quincy’s level cause they are both two very different individuals,but Quincy tested positive severel times in the drug test,but atleast he helped the boys and girls club when he had time off,and went to local hospitals with darren “the man” woodson.I’m not saying drew did the worse thing in the world and im not hanging him,but this should have not happened in public atleast at a fans stand point
Hey and another thing whaty happened to bill parcells rule’s that he has for player during the season????no drinking no clubing nor stip joints,yes drew didnt go to a joint but he still got wasted,and he is nobody to defy the rules that have been set even if he’s the mvp for the offense at the half of the season for the cowboys.First he needs to win a ring or two before you can pull off that crap,i say he’s feeling a little to comfortable in this city to do something like this so soon in his career with dallas,(image image image)im sure he understands that concept.Like i said he shouldve atleast do something for this city so he improve his fan status and the way this city looks at him.He’s a public face and an idol to most fans i just say it was wrong….and im sure most people would agree and again im so glad he didnt make an a** out of him self he’s too good of a player for us to be talking about this incident.

may we all move on and pretend this didnt happen(and yes it was my friend that was the waitress that served the drinks so i have that report first hand)and yeah i did tell her you should have denied his drinks after a while when you knew he had enough,but what can you do when your job is to take orders so i didnt get mad at her

You folks have got to watch the TO interview on NFL.com. TO read a bull#*$ apology and then stepped aside for Drew Rosenhous to make a total fool of himself. They apologized and then turned around and continued to rip the eagles for not recognizing the first apology and criticized the media. THe best part is when Drew the bloodsucker said he “loved” TO and would be with him till the end. Drew kept refusing to answer most questions from the reporters. Oh man, my sides hurt.

Man just caught the T.O. and Drew show what a joke!!!!!
If you ever wondered how T.O. got into this this mess just
listen to that idiot Rosenhaus……….

Jesse,
are you for real or are the imposters back???

Jesse,

This needs to be dropped if in fact this is not a hoax. There is nothing here, pure BS, drop it please.

Trey,

Deion won one SB with the Cowboys.

Trey, you are way off, Sanders was nothing more than a novelty pick up, it cost Dallas way too much and it wasn’t worth it.

Let me add…guys I hate to break it to you but Jerry Jones is a straight up idiot. he’s on my side so I don’t hate him or anything but he has made some absolutely awful decisions for the Cowboys. And anybody who wants to say “oh, well jerry built our success in the 90s”—-I say to you…“NO, you are wrong, that man’s name was Jimmy Johnson, who by the way was run out of town by…who was that???…oh, Jerry Jones” Hence—Jerry needs to stick to signing checks….luckily Parcells has got him in check now-a-days

Highlites of the T.O question and answer session with his moron agent Drew Rosenhaus,

NEXT QUESTION????

NEXT QUESTION???

NEXT QUESTION???

I DONT WANT TO ANSWER THAT.

NEXT QUESTION????

T.O SPEAKS FROM THE HEART AND IS A GREAT PERSON.

NEXT QUESTION???

NEXT QUESTION???

So, as you can see, nothing new from the two biggest idiots associated with football, T.O and Rosenhaus

rha,

you dont know anything alright,and this is not a hoax.you believe what ever you wanna believe u told you that before

To the poster who wrote, “The Cowboys are just another football team.”

I think you mean that they are just another football team TO YOU, which is fine. But to me and a whole lot of others on this blog, in Texas, in this country, and around the world, they’re a hell of a lot more than just another football team.

The Bucs, Cardinal, Houston (I refuse to call them the Texans), and the rest of the league- THEY’RE “just football teams.” Some greater than others; some, like the Packers, are legendary- but NONE are the illustrious institution that is the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys have woven themselves into our culture, much like the Yankees have. They are an American icon, a cultural phenomenon, and I, for one, am glad we have an owner like Jerry Jones who realizes that to be true.

Emrdog dude,

Idiot, I don’t think so.

He has done exactly what we should hope an owner would do, bring championships to Dallas. Who was it that brought Jimmy Johnson here, could it have been Jerry? What about Parcells, could that have been Jerry?

Who is the common denominator to all our playoff success in the 90’s and perhaps now? I think that would be J Jones. If we put another string of playoff appearances together now, who would that be, B Parcells? Jones is the one that was here for it all.

None of this happens without Jerry Jones, period. BTW, Parcells liked Quincy Carter as well, remember?

Rich,

very good dude.

rich

Yankees, ouch!!

Your devoted Red Sox fan.
(Cowboys first, of course, then everything else)

Aikman did not want to face Deion in SF again. That is why Jerry signed him. Troy has maintained there was only ever one SHUT DOWN CORNER and it was Deion. Unfortunately we got the nicked up and aging Deion and not the the Neion that toiled in Atlanta.

EricR is right, Deion was only here for one Super Bowl. We had a hech of a lot of talent on that team but we were being depleted at WR, DE, DT, LB, and Defensive Backs for years.

Going out and having a few beers or drinks or whatever on a bye week in Dallas is a lot different than smoking dope. One is illegal and will get you kicked out of the league. The other if done appropriately and not behind the wheel is something I am sure many of us engage in. I doubt Bledsoe tied one on in public. Who knows maybe he did but I don’t see him in handcuffs today.

Carter never was trusted by Jerry and Jerry wanted him gone after his drug use. Bill gave him a 2nd chance……..but it was a short leash. Bill Parcells told his guys in NY years ago when the league instituted the drug policy……….You are on you’re own now, I cannot protect you anymore. In todays NFL LT probably would not have lasted as long as he did with his rampant drug use. He still got busted.

Hey cowboy fans,

Jones an idiot ?

How many millions are you worth ?

The man is smart ! I am not saying he is football smart, but owners don`t have to be. What they have to do is surround themselves with smart people. Was Jimmy Johnson a coaching guru or did he surround himself with a great coaching staff ?
Jones proved he was smart becuase he went out & got BP.Look @ all the perenial losing franchises in all sports where the owners don`t go out and spend the money ! You can find them all at the bottom of their respective conferences. I for one am glad Jones is our owner becuase he truly wants to win. Isn`t that what it`s all about ! Stupid ! Guess how many owners right now wish they had BP. They all must be VERY stupid because they didn`t get him.

This is my point…going after Dieon was just a huge blunder by Jones and it WAS specifically Jones on that one. Jerry likes to go after high profile names and wasting loads of the salary cap instead of just letting talent come around. NEWS FLASH—-the chan galiey era and the dave campo era were both Jones fault, we were spent becouse of what we had shelled out in the early ninties and we had no room to get fresh talent in dallas.
  Don’t get me wrong, I love championships but I really hate when my team sucks real bad and terrell owens standing on top of our mid-field star.
      ONE more thing…you seen dieon tackle…????

Jesse ny,
 
Its not all about spending money look at the spending spree that
Washington has been on the last five years.
I agree you find good people and let them coach but jerry has
not always done that.He has at times let his ego get the better
of him which is understsndable given his success in the oil
business etc. but coaching a sports team is very different
than running a business.
Several owners have tried it in baseball. Ted turner went as
far as to manage the braves for several games and Steinbrenner’
s meddling in the yankees daily operations are well documented.
When both Turner and steinbrenner backed off their teams and
let good people run it they were very successful.
Jerry too seems to have backed off some and made it clear
that B.P. runs the team which is a good thing.

EMRDOG,

Granted We did overpay for Dieon ! But what was he trying to do . I understand your point, but what I am saying wrong move or right move at least he made one. Your right the Gailey era was a product of 3 out of four bowls ( should of been 4 out of 4 ) but so many owners today will not spend anything> To me the Joey Galloway deal was even a bigger blunder !
But at least he realized he could not do this without help. Then he went & got BP. I would rather have someone at least trying than sitting & being happy just collecting revenues.

Jesse,
  I’m not saying jerry ain’t trying, I’m sure that he is. But the problem is he shouldn’t try…he should just sign checks. Look at last season…Jerry thinking he knew who should play quarterback, I say to that “just do the money!!!! Leave the coaching to the tuna!!!”
   I like that jerry cares, I’ll give you that, jerry does care, but I think he tends to trust his own judgement sometimes…Let’s just call it like it is…jerry is a want-to-be coach with a texas oil man’s brain

Deion actually worked out well for us in his first year, which he only played 9 games because of his baseball committment. It was a tough situation to avoid, they were somewhat interested in him, but were not willing to sign him to the huge contract. Then in the first game, Kevin Smith tore his achilles and he is out for the season. So we are stuck with Clayton Holmes and Larry Brown as our starting corners. JJ panicked and went out and got what they needed for another super bowl.

emrdog,

Anyway you slice it, in what 16 years? 3 Super Bowl Titles and 4 NFC Chamionship Game appearences isn’t so bad. Also, some of the All-Time Greats have played/coached for Jones. .. If he is going to take the blame for the bad years, then he deserves the credit for the good ones too. You can’t have your cake and eat it too!

JayDub, I know but was there not another solid corner on the market in 95? I’ll admit this about sanders, he is one hell of a coverage guy…I don’t know if that’s becouse he was good or people just feared him.
   But these are my three problems with the sanders move 1. way too much money 2. although he could cover he couldn’t tackle which brings him down to average status 3. to me it just seem to much about big names and press than actually helping out the team
  JayDub,
I think you do have a point in bring up the kevin smith situation and stating that jerry “panicked”, I think that is very accurate. But all in all it wasn’t the smartest move (not a dumb move). We fell off hard becouse jerry inked deals like that and when you have superstar core players getting hurt down the road (Irvin, Aikman), there’s no room to adapt.
   Look at the Steelers, Patriots or even teams like Carolina. Those teams make smart moves and adapt their personal very well. I’m just speaking out of frustration really…cuz I saw the three super bowls…that was amazing…heaven…but I also remember the years that followed…hell…I just don’t want to be inking huge deals we can’t afford really….dah…I’m upset now!!!

emrdog
What are you getting on Primetime for? That is a good move a lot of teams wanted Deion. That was a need because when Kevin smith came back he sucked and Larry Brown was worst than him.

emrdog
He was already a cowboy before Smith got hurt.

aw,

No he wasn’t. He was a free agent still on his baseball commitment. Kevin Smith’s injury is what rushed the Cowboys into signing Deion.

jesse,(not jesse ny)

You are a moron but i’m not putting you down or anything!!!!!

sorry for changing the subject but I think this is a good one….

On the T.O. press conf somebody asked Drew Rosenhaus: “In the last 6 months what have you done for T.O. other than getting him kicked out of this football team?”…T.O. actaully smiled in the back (kinda like…“hell, good question”)..

Point is: I am not really sure if I am happier for this happening to the Eaggles, to Terrell Owens, or to his stupid agent Rosenhaus, whose reputation now will be a little shattered……buncha idiots…..hope we kick their asses into deeper missery on Monday night……go Cowboys!!!!!

ManTab:

ANSWER: d) All of the Above

:lol:

Interesting comment on the Cowboys website about the snap problems. We have had a lot of discussions about Johnson vs. Gurode and who is at fault. Here’s Parcells’ comment:

“We filmed that from a very close up and personal angle,” Parcells joked. "I think we did learn something. We were able to call it to a couple of people’s attention and hopefully it will make a difference.

“We just have to make a little better emphasis in one area and I think we should be OK. Now that’s a concentration on the part of the quarterback. He has to be conscious about it.”

Sounds like the person at fault was neither.

I’m sure that it’s habit with Bledsoe from his recent history and him trying to get out from under center quickly. But he’s had good numbers this year and I think if he concentrates more (like the coaches want him to) it could be easily remedied.

We’ll see Monday night …

aw:

Kevin Smith ruptured his Achilles on MNF (9/4/95) against the Giants. Sanders was signed the following Saturday (9/9/95). Remember – he was still playing with the Reds at the time and had arthroscopic surgery on an injured ankle before seeing the field at Texas Stadium.

I was happy that the Eagles decided to start their rebuilding process rather than let TO back into Philly.
They ae a different team with TO. Sure we beat them in Dallas – YEAH BABY!! – but the eagles at home are something else. TO stay in your driveway doing pushups……

AW,

Owens does not drop balls with any regularity that you can tag him as a guy who does such. Ever since Moss injured the arch of his foot he’s slowed down a bit. Did you not see Newman catch him from 15 yards back to save a TD? Owens gets just as much seperation down field as Moss does and is also able to muscle the defensive backs over the middle, ala Keyshawn Johnson. The ONLY reason Moss is higher paid than Owens, is because Owens didn’t really get an oportunity at free agency. Owens is better than Moss.

Now if I had a choice I’d take Moss simply because he’s less of a disruption.

Poor Eagles!
Poor Owens!
Poor Rosenhaus!

He he he he he he he he

rich,

I agree with you 100% on your asessment of JJ. I’ve seen more than one survery of NFL players that said if they had a choice of owners to work for that the Cowboy’s organization would be their choice. JJ gives his players first class treatment and rewards results.

Everyone in the media wants to praise the Pats and Eagles for their frugality but I think we are now seeing the results of such tactics. The results are two sqauds woefully thin in key positions.

For so long we have heard about how its Bellichecks system and that it doesn’t matter what players are in place to make it happen. But as we have come to find out, it does matter who is playing.

Contribution to the T.O. drabble…

Too bad that such a talent has to spoil his career and crap on teammates just to feed a voracious ego. Our ‘Boys do nothing but make us teem with pride and enthusiasm when they accept responsibility for their own mistakes with a commitment to perform increasingly better…and then follow through on that commitment! The team’s success to this point in the season is a testament to that attitude. We’ve even seen widespread selfless support from veterans for the rookies’ development to the goal of “Winning is Our Business” mantra. Prime example of this is Dat’s pride in how well Bradie and Scott are playing and his unselfish attitude about the role he now provides until he is back to full capacity. Another is seeing KJ being one of the first to congratulate TG or PC or anyone else for a good play. KJ may have been a “head case”, but unless you had known about it, you would never have a clue about it with his current play and attitude on this team.

Regarding the comment that “owners know little about football”…

I doubt this statement could hold up to someone of Art Modell’s stature. He definitely knew what the NFL was about and also the business aspects of it. Now before I get jumped on with an inferrence that JJ is an Art Modell, I’m not stating that. JJ is learning and developing into a quality team owner. Yes, he’s made some really big blunders, yet, who amoung us cannot say that we, too, have at one time or another made big ones ourselves? On the otherhand, he’s made some really sound decisions as well … Troy, Emmett, Jimmy Johnson’s hiring, and probably his best … BP. Let’s all just hope that his ownership continues to develop toward establishing a sound future for “our team”.

Regarding the MNF game with the Iggles…

Look out! They are going to be like a wounded wild creature and very, very dangerous. Be assured that they will come out hard and fast to deliver hardcore, “smash mouth” football to the one team that delivered to them their worst embarassment to date. Of the next 3 games, this one is the scariest and Denver will be the toughest if they continue to play as they have been. If the ’Boys continue on their improving road, then there should be a W recorded in spite of it all. Not particularly quick to predict the score very often, yet this one should be 21-10 in favor of the ’Boys.

i agree the Eagles are going to be better than alot of
people think.Mcnabb looked healthy and moved very well
in the pocket against the skins.Not a good sign for the Cowboys.

This is critical game for them they almost must have it
to have a chance for the playoffs.They will also want to
prove they can win without T.O. The eagles are a “system”
team so i don’t think the loss of T.O. will cripple them.As
B.P. pointed out in his press conference they did pretty well
last year without T.O.

On the Deion train of thought-He wasn’t very interested in tackling(however I did see him blitz very effectively a time or two even getting a sack) but no one has mentioned his return skills and how every time he was punted to, the whole stadium was on the edge of their seats. I am not a fan of his personna and I have my doubts about his character he certainly is one of the best cover corners to ever play the game. Too bad he got married that one year and lost interest for most of the season while honeymooning(claimed it was his toe if I remember right).

Jerry Jones’ 10 Top biggest screw-ups (in decending order):

10. Settling for Lafluer when the Chiefs had the moxy to move up and take Tony Gonzalez

9. Reaching for the Haley clone in Ekuban and Carver

8. Passing up Tony Brakens

7. Not drafting Randy Moss (I know some will disagree here; he’s a punk, but he’s no Owens. We’d have won a LOT of games, and if he’d acted up, we always coulda traded him to Oakland, maybe even to the Vikings- Hershel Walker trade II? Ya never know….)

6. Trading TWO 1st round picks for Galloway (We coulda gotten Alexander AND Pettington- I thought Chad woulda made a great Cowboys QB.)

5. Wasting 3 years on Campo; 5-11, 5-11, (yaaawn) 5-11

4. Hiring Barry Switzer

3. Costing Dallas the three-peat (This is tied to the Johnson firing, but it’s so huge it’s worth its own mention.)

2. Getting rid of Jimmy Johnson.

1. Firing Coach Landry THE WAY HE DID. (Where were YOU when you heard Landry was canned? I was in high school, in a van heading to Uvalde, Texas, to play a gig at a wedding. Heard it on the radio, just like Landry himself. If Jones doesn’t get into Heaven, this will be why. We’re talk’n “God’s Coach” here. The man deserved so much better than that. Truly abominable.

So there’s MY list of Jones’ biggest mistakes. If I forgot something, or if ya’ll think you can do better….

You forgot hutchinson and henson….

Jones’ BRILLIANT Decisions: (These two nullify his many mistakes, IMO.)

2. Signing Coach Parcells (This was Jones breaking from himself, and realizing he couldn’t rebuild the Cowboys alone. By signing Parcells, he chose winning over his ego… finally.)

1. Signing Jimmy Johnson (Many laughed at Jerry for this one. “The best football coach in the country”? Isn’t that what Jerry said at the time? Well, he was right. And the greatest dynasty ever doesn’t happen without Jimmy Johnson, and Jerry got him for us.

I’m glad Jerry’s the owner of the Cowboys. He wants to WIN. It’s everything to him. I think winning is more important to him than money. He’s greedy alright- greedy for glory. And that’s why he’s the best owner in the league.

Shawn-Hutch and Henson are nowhere near the 10 mentioned by Rich(good list by the way). You have to take a swing at guys with high reward:low risk. Ryan Leaf was a bigger gamble than either of those guys. If BP hasn’t given up on Henson by this point, I haven’t given up on him yet. Henson has got to get some game time seasoning. Maybe he goes to Europe this summer.

Rich,

On point two. I was watching a tape of Super Bowl 28 a while back and when Jimmy is asked after the game if he is ready to go after three in a row, he gets very defensive and evasive. He refused to answer the question. Of course, a few weeks later he started openly needling Jerry on “The Tonight Show” and on other programs.

That doesn’t excuse Jerry for hiring Switzer, when any coach in America would have given his gonads to coach that team, but that breakup took two. Jimmy was working at getting relieved as much as Jerry was wishing he could axe him.

Oh and on point one, some of his former players have a different opinion. When Craig Morton was asked about the manner of Tom’s dismissal, he simply said, it’s fitting. He got fired exactly the way he used to cut his players, coldly and impersonally.

I think Tom’s great, but I think this one is overblown.

Raf-Jimmy is just as responsible for the divorce as JJ. His ego is every bit as large as JJ’s. Jimmy didn’t respect JJ for what he did as an owner and JJ didn’t respect what Jimmy had built as a team. What a tragedy teh 2 couldn’t make it work. We could have won 2-3 more Super Bowls in the 90s.

Raf-If jj had to admit to a screw-up and could get a do-over he would handle that situation better. It was an albatross around his neck for several years until the length of time and 3 Super Bowls was a salve to all those hurt feelings.

Re: the firing of Tom Landry

Rich:

Several of Jerry’s bigger screw-ups, none of which you mentioned:

8. Trying to draft backups, none of whom made the team, when the starters were starting to get long in the tooth and needed competition.

7. Getting Troy to work out Lafleur and Gonzales, then trusting Troy’s gut (and Switzer’s mouth) instead of asking a real football guy for help.

6. Hiring an OC without head coaching experience from another team as head coach to change the system, then allowing his players to subvert the head coach so he could fire him and take the team over himself and change the system back.

5. Talking a fifth round QB who couldn’t start at his college, trading up to draft him in the second, and trying to convince everyone he was a genius for picking the QB of the future.

4. Telling everyone that Shaunte Carver and Tony Brackens were the same player, when anybody with eyes could tell they never were.

3. Hiring Larry Lacewell to run the drafts, then overruling him whenever Lacewell’s advice conflicted with his own preconceptions or needs for attention.

2. Spending his wad on Deion when the team was already Super Bowl caliber (two of the previous three), killing the cap for a number of years to come and leading directly to many of the above transgressions.

and,

1. Deciding, despite all evidence to the contrary (see 8-2, above) that he is a football guy himself, and has no need of ever hiring a GM.

Jerry is a great owner, and a horrible GM. He needs, as owner, to fire his GM and get a football guy, because other than hiring JJ and BP, his GM has a long track record of making terrible, boneheaded decisions. Other than two coaching hires (out of what, five?), his GM might as well be working for the Cardinals, Texans, or some other team that has always sucked and probably always will.

Aikman had a great quote from the breakup he said we as
players are asked to put our differences aside for the team to
be successful i don’t understand why they can’t do the same…..

Rich,

I could not agree with your numero uno more.

However at least Jones had the class the bring back God’s Coach and let the Hat go up in the Ring. Remember he had maintained initially that there would no be any more rings or such things.

Landry was the classiest coach I have ever seen. No one will ever duplicate his 20 consecutive winning seasons……..not in this era. But it was a testament to his coaching, the team, the players and the organization.

Parcells has plenty of proteges. That have done quite well, but look around the league and you hear the classiest to play the game talk about Landry.

It was done poorly. It was done wrong. It was probably time to move on, but nonetheless you could have moved Tom upto GM or something for a year or two. Even if all he did was shuffle paper. JJ was Machivellan and that has its merits in sports and biz……..but hey.

I do think the big Guy took note on that day!

You don’t shoot the pope! You don’t fire Tom Landry!

Just a couple of God’s rules!

emrdog,

The Sanders signing did wind up costing the Cowboys dearly over the next several years. His salary prohibited the Cowboys from re-signing good veterans, who left via free agency, or from bringing in competent replacements.

However, I believe the signing of Deion Sanders directly led to our Super Bowl victory in 1995. I seriously doubt that we would have been able to advance very deeply into the playoffs (if we could get there at all) with Larry Brown and Clayton Holmes as our cornerbacks. Kevin Smith went down for the count in the first game of the season. We would have been up the creek without Sanders.

Plus, signing Sanders deprived the 49ers of one of their best players.

So, you tell me. Was winning that last Super Bowl worth the subsequent grief? I say yes. It is obviously difficult for any team to get to the Super Bowl, much less win one.

JayDub, I know but was there not another solid corner on the market in 95? …

After the season had already started? You know how difficult it is to consummate a trade for a decent player once the season starts. And, I can’t think of another deal that would have deprived the 49ers of Deion Sanders.

… Iâ€â"¢ll admit this about sanders, he is one hell of a coverage guy…I donâ€â"¢t know if thatâ€â"¢s becouse he was good or people just feared him.

Probably both, but it is the results that count, after all.

And lets not fool ourselves here. We are talking about the best cover cornerback to have ever played the game. For a period that stretched over several years, NOBODY beat Deion Sanders deep. NOBODY. Teams feared him so badly that they wouldn’t even place passes to his side into their game plans. Proof of that came against the Cardinals, in the game where he injured his toe. Even after Sanders left the game, Plummer didn’t even look to his left. Why not? They didn’t have any plays drawn up to that side. It wasn’t until after halftime that the Cardinals managed to cobble up something to go over that way. Now THAT’S respect!

On the subject of Jerry Jones, it was Jones who engineered the Herschel Walker deal, and it was Jones who prevented Jimmy Johnson from trading away Troy Aikman (instead of Steve Walsh). So, I think, in addition to the hiring of Johnson, we have to give Jones more than a smidgen of credit for our Super Bowl wins.

I think a lot of people like to point the finger at Jerry Jones for the Jimmy Johnson split as if Jimmy had no part in it. There is Jerry’s version, Jimmy’s version, and somewhere in between there is the truth and I sincerely doubt that any of us will ever know exactly what happened.

I also get a bit tired of hearing that Barry Switzer was a bad coach. He had one bad year after we made it to the divisional playoff and came down to the wire in a road loss in Carolina the year before (sound familiar? it also happened under BP a couple of years ago). The fact is that at that point the Boys were already sliding because of injuries, retirements, and free agent defections.

Everyone who claims that we would have had 4 in a row if it weren’t for Barry must not have watched the NFC Championship game against SF in Switzer’s first year as the Cowboys head coach. Head coaches don’t turn the ball over, and it also wasn’t Switzer’s fault that Ken Norton Jr. went to SF along with a lot of other very talented veteran one-year rental defensive players (Deion, Richard Dent, Ricky Jackson, Gary Plummer, etc.). The Cowboys still could have won the game against that vastly improved defense of the 49ers, but those early turnovers really put us in a hole that was too deep to climb out of for a Conference Championship Game in a very talented opponent’s stadium. We will never know if Jimmy would have been able to do a thing different…after all it wasn’t his fault that Leon Lett lost that Thanksgiving Day Snow Bowl game to the Dolphins. Some things are simply beyond a coach’s control.

For everyone who has been saying that JJ bringing in Deion was a mistake, I couldn’t disagree more. Deion had a great career in Dallas. He not only played cornerback as well as anyone who ever played for the Cowboys, but he returned punts and kicks, and distracted opposing defenses when Switzer had him line up in the slot on offense. As I recall he even caught a few passes from Troy and had some good plays on reverses. The best part of all is that we didn’t let SF hang on to him so Irvin didn’t have to battle with him to get open twice a year. He may of taken up a lot of cap space, but I think he was worth it all around.

The real fall of the Dallas Dynasty team was career ending injuries and retirements of Novacek, Charles Haley, Tony Casillas, and Moose. Kevin Smith was never the same after his achilles injury. We lost Alvin Harper, Ken Norton Jr., James Washington, Darrin Smith, Jim Jeffcoat, Larry Brown, Russell Maryland, and Mark Stepnoski to other teams in free agency. Switzer was the coach, yes…he and Jerry Jones deserve criticism for some of the more dubious draft picks over those years, but considering Dallas never had high first round picks (or the cap space to sign a lot of them anyway because of Irvin, Emmitt, and Troy’s salaries) during his time as coach, I would say that is hardly a reason to slam him. Jimmy had a LOT of high first round picks because of the terrible record the Cowboys had his first few years and as a result of the Herschel Walker trade. Barry never had any picks that high.

And the bottom line…Barry Switzer is one of only three men to win a Super Bowl as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones has three Super Bowl rings. Not bad in my estimation!!

Dave Campo could have won a Super Bowl in 1995 with the Dallas Cowboys. How do we come back the next year and win? What rookie made a difference? Deion? We had just as much talent in 94 and the team was undisciplined………Troy and Emmit have both said as much.

Jerry Jones hired the one coach that Troy Aikman had to get away from at OU and transfer to UCLA. That ain’t to bright for the future of your franchise QB who was extremely young and in his prime at the time.

If Switzer is so great why did JJ replace him with Chan Gailey? Barry never knew he was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys……..Jerry filled him full of Kentucky Bourbon before the games and told him to stand on the sidelines and enjoy the expensive seats. He basically took over the entire staff……….minus a few notable exceptions like Wanstedt and Turner………but he inherited a pretty good staff and the most talented team in football.

Switzer won in the Super Bowl the same way he won in College with a Superior Talented Team. Barry did not deserve to coach the Cowboys…….he was an NCAA Sanction specialist at OU.

Name one strategy………one game………one call……..one anything that Barry did to contribute to the Dallas Cowboys. It was the closest Jerrry Jones ever came to out right coaching the Cowboys himself. Bill Parcells don’t play that………and neither did Jimmy Johnson. Jerry wanted a puppet and he was pulling Barry’s strings. Name a player that he drafted that mattered……….name his best college player Brian Bosworth? Ok he had some talented kids come out of OU. Bos was just a big bust as Bo showed us all!!!!

Compare Barry Switzer’s work ethic to Gruden, Parcells, Holmgrem, Reid, or Ray Rhodes.

Lets See…….Barry Switzers itinerary……..for a week in the NFL

Monday Cocktails at 4………and Wings are free from 5-7 at Randy Whites Bar!

Tuesday………Try to date a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.

Wed………Meet with JR Ewing………the real oil man and future owner of the Dallas Cowboys. (nobody clued him in JR was a TV STAR)

Thursday………..Cocktails and Golf with OU Alumni at the Dallas Cowboys Golf Course

Friday……….Apologize to that Cheerleader for not calling her and see if she will come over again.

Saturday……….Meet with Jerry Jones to see if I can stand on the sidelines or if I have to go up in the box this week.

SUNDAY…………WATCH THE COWBOYS PLAY FROM THE SIDELINES. I get a headset and everything……….Oh GEE thanks JERRY!!!!

Monday………start all over again………..Maybe go down to Austin to Drink with the College kids on 6th St.

I don’t see Switzer as being as inept as some others do. The man knew football. If he had brought an ounce of discipline to the team, he would have been a decent coach for the Cowboys. He didn’t, though, so he wasn’t. It was his fatal flaw.

Jon-

Your response is so ridiculous, your slanderous assertions sound straight out of either an Aggie or a disgruntled Longhorn fan’s mouth. My guess is a UT fan who still hasn’t gotten over all those ass whippings he put on Darrell Royal’s teams in the Cotton Bowl. If he was as bad as you say he was the Cowboys would have never won the Super Bowl with him as coach. He has a Super Bowl ring to disprove all of your silly accusations. Period.

As far as the players he coached in college, I would say that Bosworth may have been notable because of his media attention, but he was FAR from being Switzer’s best player he ever coached. I think Billy Sims and his Heisman Trophy might tend to agree. He won 3 national championships at OU and 1 Super Bowl, making him the only man other than Jimmy Johnson (who Switzer helped get the job at OSU) to win NCAA and NFL Championships. Just ask Tom Osborne, Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno, Jimmy Johnson, and DARRELL ROYAL how good a head coach Switzer was and if he put disciplined teams on the field when they went up against his team (and they all lost more than any one of those coaches won against him head to head). By the way…Jimmy Johnson’s record as head coach as the Cowboys was 44-36…Switzer’s was 45-26.

You are also factually incorrect about Wanstedt, he left after the first Super Bowl and Butch Davis took over for two years. Butch left after Switzer’s first year to take the University of Miami job so he could get some head coaching experience. Norv Turner left the same year as Jimmy Johnson to take the head coaching job with the Redskins. The point is almost all the assistant coaches and staff had turned over either before Switzer ever got there or within the first year to move on to head coaching jobs (kind of like the Patriots had happen after they won the Super Bowl this year).

As far as Dave Campo winning the Super Bowl in 1995…well…all I have to say is what has Dave Campo EVER WON?!?! He has been a career assistant coach and has no title at any level as a head coach.

All the work ethic in the world hasn’t gotten Andy Reid or Ray Rhodes Super Bowl rings as a head coach.

You can say all you want about Jerry Jones and Barry Switzer, but they won the Super Bowl. What happened afterwards would have happened no matter who was in charge of the team.

In reference to JJ’s mistakes. Someone else said it, Who among us never made mistakes. I don’t think any of us could help but want to be a part of the team like JJ did. He got his life long dream when he bought the Cowboys. I would want to be a part of the team if I bought them and most of you would too. I will agree he should have started a little smaller and worked his way into understanding the pro grame. Unfortunately, he made some big mistakes and ones that were nationally and internationally known. Just think if our mistakes got as much press. I was upset with the Landy dismissal and was angry for a while. I never decided to stop watching however. Jimmy Johnson was an excellent coach and unfortunately the marriage was only going to last for a short time. Jerry thought he had learned enough I guess and made some of his biggest mistakes in the next few years. Drafting players is a science as much as an art and many coaches have had pie in their faces because of their picks. It is not unusual for first rounders to fail. 4th and 5th rounders turn out to be diamonds in the rough. As far as taking a chance on players we have had our successes in that area as well. Bullit Bob Hayes had hands of stone when he first came to the cowboys. I believe that Preston Pearson was most noted as a basketball player before he caught passes out of the backfield for the Cowboys. Ed Too Tall Jones was never expected to be as good as he was. He was definitely not a prototypical defensive end. So as far as the baseball players we have experienced, so they didn’t work out. Cowboys teams of the Landry age would not reach for one of these chance players until later in the draft. Henson may be a reach and he may become something else. Only time will tell. If he doesn’t then there is always a new class of seniors for next season.

Mr. Bill,

Thanks You. I could have not of said it better myself.

On Superbowl in hand is worth more then two in the bush. As I stated in my origional post, there is no way they win in 95 without Deion. He had a number of good year were he earned every $ of his Salary.

Regarding Jerry,

Jerry is a risk taker and as a risk taker he has hit a number of homeruns and he has stuck out a number of times. For the most part he is very good at learning from his mistakes. At this point in his carrer he is a NFL general manager with 15 years of experience.

Like most good risk taking businessmen, he tries to hire good people to give him advise, but ultimatly makes the decision himself. Your fooling yourself if you blame him for the bad decisions and then give his advisors credit for the good ones. They were not all his ideas, but they were his decisions.

He drafted Aikman and Emmit and many other players that Jimmy advised. You can blame him for the bad decsion to give up the top pick in the draft in order to draft Steve Walsh. It was Jimmy’s advice, but it was his decision. Likewise you can give him credit for trading Walker and Walsh for a boat load of picks when one was a has been and the other was a never will be. Both his idea and his decision.

Sure, his theory that anyone can coach a championship team in this league and his theory that gee…its easy to pick up a QB with 2nd and 3rd round picks have yet to work out so well. If he had hit on one of the four cheap QB he tried it with then I guess we would be calling one of his advisors a genuis, because we can’t give the man who actually takes the risk credit for when it works out.

What’s all this crap about Bledsoe drinking on his bye week off? Before you condemn him, you need to consider these 3 questions: 1) Was he caught having sex in a bathroom stall?; 2) Did he have his girlfriend shot and go to Nashville in the trunk of his car? anf finally 3) Was he having a sex orgy at the LAKE? IF THE GLOVE DON’T FIT, YOU MUST ACQUIT! Enough said.