I've been doing this every week, so without further ado...

1)       “They were who we thought they were!” Last night was the first time the Cowboys played like I expected them to play before the season: Solid Defense, Safe and Maddening Offense, Improved Special Teams. Last night’s offense was the one we all know and loathe…confusion in blitz pickup, compensatory penalties, bogging down in the red zone. We were good in the red zone in week two largely due to really good play selection. The media is complaining we didn’t call run plays at the goal line, but Romo said they were audibling to passes after the defensive alignment showed that a player would be unblocked if they ran. Teams are begging us to pass at the goal line, because they realize that Romo cannot throw the fade.

2)       Would it be a bad thing if this became known as “Jay Ratliff’s Defense?” Don’t get me wrong: I love me some DeMarcus. But there’s a nastiness about Ratliff, a crazy look in his eye, that is the personality that I’d like to see contaminate the whole unit. And I don’t particularly like “The Rat” as his nickname…insufficiently descriptive. Rats give people the willies, but they aren’t terrifying. Ratliff scares me. Until someone comes up with something better, I will hereinafter refer to Ratliff as “Krazee Eyez Killah.” I could totally see Ratliff barking “I’ll snap off your neck with a crackle and pop…” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCzdEAy8WOw

3)       After T.O. early season production and Twitter craziness, does anyone still think Jerry made the wrong move? I mostly agree with the suddenly insufferable Steve Young that this offense lacks a downfield passing threat. That will occasionally result in games where we pile up 400 yards but score 17 points. But T.O. is just not good anymore. And for anyone who hasn’t read his Twitter page…seriously. Go now. This is the guy’s thoughts in real time, but when he’s trying to make himself look good(!), and he comes off as a total fool. When Brian Dawkins was asked earlier this year if the Brandon Marshall craziness rivaled the T.O. craziness, he said “No…T.O. was way crazier.” Once T.O. “loses respect” for a QB and an OC---and he’s six-for-six in respect losing in his NFL career—he’s simply insufferable. Read his tweets, look at his declining skills, and ask yourself whether you’d re-hire him as our Number One receiver.

4)       Felix Jones leaves me holding my breath every time he touches the ball…and then again as we await the inevitable MRI results. Felix is being compared to Tony Dorsett, but that’s an insult to Felix. When he’s on the field, Felix is not as fast but much more explosive. That move he put on Godfrey last night was straight Barry Sanders, but unlike Barry, Felix doesn’t dance his way into lots of negative plays and can lower his shoulder in short yardage. Still, staying healthy is a skill, and at this point in his career, Felix’s body is like china in a bull closet.

5)       Jon Gruden was so slobbery in his affection for Romo (I half-expected “I love you, bro”) that I think he might be auditioning to coach in Dallas next year. Look: unless we advance to the Super Bowl, Wade will not be back. He’s simply not one of the Top 15 head coaches in football, and precisely no other team would hire him as a head coach in 2010, so why would we re-hire him? Gruden should be higher on our short list than he probably will be. Here’s what I think Jerry’s short list will be, and should be:

WILL BE: 1) Garrett 2a) Holmgren 2b) Shanahan. On a football level, Jerry likes to be comfortable with the people he hires. He treats people like family, and it’s usually reciprocated. (E.g., On the day he fired Campo, he held a press conference with Campo and praised him to the skies!) Lots of media people think Jerry=Steinbrenner, when in fact he is nothing of the sort. In fact, JJ perhaps should be a little bit more like Steinbrenner, in creating a little healthy tension in the building for coaches and players who under perform. Jerry clearly does not want Garrett to go someplace else and be the next Sean Payton. If we win 10+ games, I think Garrett would be the favorite. After all, if the other candidates are also Offensive Gurus, why not hire the guy who is a successful offensive coach that doesn’t require you to shift offensive systems? Now, this all depends on how we finish the year. If we have another late season nosedive, Jerry will need a big PR hit next year—he won’t be able to market Garrett to a demoralized fan base. Remember, with Jerry, it’s always marketing. Balancing football and marketing, Holmgren and Shanahan have both tamed wild QB’s (Holmgren-Favre and Shanahan-Elway, Young) and coaxed career performances out of guys without elite skills (Holmgren-Hasselbeck and Shanahan-Plummer). In this case, I worry that Jerry will balance his PR need with his aversion to radical change and choose Holmgren. Shanahan’s offense is better with nimble linemen (of which we have only one), and Holmgren’s doesn’t require it. Jerry is also closer to Holmgren. I’m worried that a) Holmgren will be 62, and this is now a young(er) coach’s league, and b) Holmgren’s best years were with Ron Wolf, and Jerry is no Ron Wolf. In Seattle, Holmgren feasted on a weak division but still only won more than 10 games once in ten years. Shanahan is younger, and I don’t think it would hurt to transition away from the “huge linemen” model that seems to bite us when their fat asses get tired and under perform in December.

SHOULD BE: 1) Garrett 2a) Gruden 2b) Shanahan. Let me say a few words in favor of Gruden. He’s worked for a meddling owner, but Jerry is nowhere near as crazy as Al Davis. He’s an offensive coach who won a Super Bowl with a defense-first team and built the offense-first Raiders team that went to the Super Bowl. He’s ten years younger than Shanahan and 15 years younger than Holmgren. He’s gotten great performances out of journeyman QB’s Gannon and Johnson. He’s the most intense of all the coaching candidates mentioned, he’d probably work for Jerry (unlike Cowher), and he has the strong personality needed to get the players’ attention amidst the circus that Jerry creates. While intense and capable of instilling discipline through fear, Gruden wouldn’t create the Bataan Death March atmosphere of Duane Charles Parcells. On balance, if we win 9 or fewer games this year and need to clean house, I think Gruden should be the guy.