Dallas Cowboys random articles

by Dave Halprin (Grizz) on Jul 18, 2007 7:20 PM CDT in News Comment 9 comments

Not too much happening in Cowboy Land this afternoon. The DMN blog says were working on getting our 7th round draft picks signed (Courtney Brown, Alan Ball), and that talks have also started with FB Deon Anderson.

Over at DC.com, Mickey Spags looks into his crystal ball and puts forth some 2007 predictions. One prediction is that even though Terrell Owens will have some kind of incident at training camp; overall he will be much happier this year. Here’s why:

Two of [Owens’] local confidantes, Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin, are onboard with Phillips replacing Parcells. And both of these former Cowboys players will be out-front supporters of Jason Garrett, the man in charge of this offense. They will be in Owens' ear, convincing him Garrett will have his best interest in hand and that Red Ball is a man he can trust. Garrett earned that respect from both Pro Bowl players while working behind Troy Aikman during their time with the Cowboys. They know his act and have openly applauded the hire, and if Owens cares to listen, he will, too.

Mickey’s got a lot more predictions, so go check it out.

Also at DC.com, a rundown on the running backs on the Cowboys roster. We know about JJ and MB3, but we have a major battle brewing at the FB position, and we have a couple of promising UDFA’s to look at. DC.com likes Jackie Battle.

But rookie free-agent running back Jackie Battle could turn some heads with his bruising running style. Battle was stopped behind the line of scrimmage only six times out of 441 carries at Houston and has deceptive speed for his size (6-2, 235). He'll compete with Thompson and former Hampton tailback Alonzo Coleman in San Antonio.

Tony Romo is a major ham. The guy loves the limelight.

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Check out What Dan Campbell has to say

about our D.

http://cumuluspodcasting.com/media/KTCK/KTCK109/KTCK_071807_1-BaD-Campbell.mp3

Grizz you got to admit that Parcells defensive scheming, or lack there of, is what cost us down the stretch. I have no problem with his coaching style, but the x's and o's of the game just passed him by.

Burt-D

by Burt D on Jul 19, 2007 12:14 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

hearing Campbell's comments

was almost like reading what I've blogged here all offseason, Parcells' and his coaching staff were the reason our defense failed. Campbell played with these guys and knows how good they are and he knows it wasn't the lack of talent or ability of our players, it was the vanilla schemes Parcells and Zimmer employed.

Campbell pretty much guaranteed that our defense will be much improved under Phillips and I've pretty much have been saying the same thing as well. You see how the so called experts have been ranking our defensive units, all top 10 caliber in the league and talent wise, thats true. Parcells and Zimmer didn't coach these guys to utilize their skills and abilities and thats the bottom line.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Jul 19, 2007 7:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I almost agree

Not so much "didn't" as in refused to, but more like "couldn't". Campbell very clearly said Zim was a great defensive corrdinator but could not grasp and coach the 3-4. To me, that is the root of the problem with vanilla schemes and confused players. And it's the reason Stewart is in Dallas and not someone else (like Rivera or Singletary). Phillips needed a guy who could help teach HIS defense.

Needless to say, if Campbell is right, it bodes very very well for the Cowboys' defense because properly coached and prepared, they will obviously improve.

by dunkman on Jul 19, 2007 8:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

you're right

in that Zimmer didn't have the knowledge or understanding of how to effectively run a 3-4 defense. The blame, however, has to still be placed on Parcells for not either hiring a DC who knew how to coach a 3-4, or just coaching it himself.

While Parcells was a great coach in assembling talent, installing a good work ethic, managing games, instilling disipline and structure, his failure lies in not allowing his coaches to become more innovative and creative with his schemes. He was too old school and stubborn.

The bottom line is that as the HC, Parcells has to take the blame. Just having your guys line up and play doesn't cut it as pretty much any high school coach in the country can do that.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Jul 19, 2007 9:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's sort of right

but I seem to recall that two things happened after Parcells was hired - First, Jones really wanted to keep Zim because he liked his work and even thought of him as a future HC candidate. Second, Parcells had a devil of a time finding qualified assistants who knew his systems well. Sean Payton was thought at the time to be a questionable hire.

I'm not saying they did all they could or should have done, and of course the HC is responsibke in the end. But... Parcells system worked well in the past (and not like History Channel past) when he had excellent coordinators like that dude, what's his name, in New England. So it's a workable system with the right players and right coordinators, and all on the same sheet of music. What we all saw starting with the NO game was a team that was anything but on the same sheet...

by dunkman on Jul 19, 2007 10:27 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I feel Campbell's comment has more validity than

the others we have heard recently, because for one he plays on the offense side of the ball so he would have no reason to make excuses for a poor performance of the defense in previous years he played with the team. Secondly he has no direct benefit in the success of the team because he plays for Detroit, so there would be no reason for him to make excuses.

Burt-D

by Burt D on Jul 19, 2007 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

He was a Parcells guy, so he is not trying to slam the coach. Plus he directly saw the results when he played Dallas and heard the coaches game planning. So whatever the reason, it was clear that other teams thought the Dallas D was static and reactive.

by dunkman on Jul 19, 2007 11:29 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

HA!

He totally confirms my theory that the defensive coaching staff did not understand the 3-4 well enough to coach and prepare the players. Zim - great 4-3 coach, but not a 3-4 guy.

The whole "plain vanilla" deal is probably true, but I don't think it was because Parcells didn't know how to be innovative. Although Parcells coached more on the human side (motivation, preparation, individual technique) than the scheme side, I think the real problem was that he lacked the staff to implement anything more complex. I mean, the guy has seen it all in 30+ years of coaching. How old are Jim Johnson and Dick LeBeau? I can't buy the whole "game passed him by" or "too stubborn to change" as the basic reason.

Campbell's confidence in the team's talent and Phillips' ability was pretty impressive.

Great find, BurtD.

by dunkman on Jul 19, 2007 7:11 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Romo

I don't think Tony loves the limelight, I think he's a guy that likes to go out and have fun, but because he's the qb of the Cowboys he'll always be photographed or taped doing it. I think he'd be the first to tell you that.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Jul 19, 2007 7:38 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs