T.O. pops off again. In other news, the sun rose today and Elvis is still dead.
Here's part one of the infamous video.
You just knew JFE was going to jump in on this one.
Apparently, the system drops balls, can’t get off the line in press coverage and can’t make plays when he catches the ball. T.O. is right. The system does stink.
And speaking of "the system," doesn’t it technically include Tony Romo? He is, after all, the trigger man deciding in whose capable hands to pass.
I can just see her now, foaming at the mouth as she types those words. With a philly cheesesteak by her side, a glazed ham, two bags of chips and a Diet Soda, I can just picture her typing out this story and then tapping her editor with her cheetoes-stained hand to let her know it's finished.
"Thanks Engel," the editor says. "Cowboy-hateration. That's why we pay you what we do."
Clarence E. Hill jumps in too. He has a more, shall we say, subtle non-hysterical approach.
After trying his best to be patient and not cause a distraction, a frustrated Owens took to the airways and voiced his complaints about his role in the offense during an interview with former Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders on NFL network Thursday night.But Owens said anybody who is waiting for him to blow up and cause a big scene, as he has done in the past when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, shouldn’t waste their time. He said that is not going to happen and will he continue to run whatever plays are called.
Seems like T.O.'s argument goes something like this: teams have caught up to the system, it's not flexible enough, I'm not involved enough, I'm frustrated with my numbers and we can't win a championship if my numbers don't improve.
Call me crazy, an apologist or whatever bad name you want to, but I tend to agree with most of that. It does seems like teams have caught up to our system. Washington sure did in our first game. Fred Smoot even went so far as to say they "exposed" us, which a lot of people agreed with. At times it doesn't seem flexible enough. Not just with putting T.O. in motion but utilizing talent (Tashard Choice, Roy Williams, Felix Jones when he was healthy). Also, it just seems like sometimes Jason Garrett gets a little too cute for my tastes. He's ignored MB3 too much at times and that borders on nonfeasance in my book. To his credit, he turned it around last week and I'm excited about the future. We also have to factor in Romo's injury and the limitations of Brad Johnson before we judge Garrett too harshly.
More T.O. and Cowboys roundups after the break.
Now, I don't agree with all T.O. said, how he said it or why he's saying it. Again, T.O., just SYFP. No one wins when you do this. Actually the only people that do win are the sportswriters who get a free story out of you. It's asining. You think your not involved enough? You too involved in my opinion, particularly when it comes to quick hitches, slants and screens. Those plays should go to RW2. We need to bring Crayton back into the playbook too and start hitting Witten more in the seams and creases of the defense. This will allow you to see more single coverage. Also, your part of the blame in this. You do drop too many balls. And how do I know this? CAUSE I WATCH THE GAMES AND I SEE THEM THROWING TO YOU ALL THE DARN TIME! You always put one on the ground. Guaranteed. You lose credibility when you complain and you still get the dropsies occasionally. And you especially lose credibility when you complain at a time that we're fighting for our playoff lives. C'mon man. Like my boy said in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, "You gotta think potnah!"
That being said, I just don't get what the big fuss is all about. I mean, I see Deion trying to hype it and for some reason I'm starting to not trust that guy. Seems like he's an instigator and his motives aren't pure. I realize ESPN and other media outlets have and will run with the story. But it seems to me T.O.'s basic point is that he's frustrated. He wants to be more involved, score more TDs, catch more passes and our coaches agree. So do I. I don't see all the Machiavellian motives. I don't see the "throw-Jason-Garrett-under-the-Bus" angle. But I could be wrong.
I also don't see how some people can say all the sudden T.O. is old, can't catch and can't get away from double-teams. His numbers are low and declining but he's still got good numbers. Not Pro Bowl numbers but decent. He's third in the league in receiving TDs and in the top 25 in all major receiving categories in the conference. Not T.O. numbers but still pretty good.
By the way, Randy Moss is seeing double-teams as well and his numbers have declined too. Tom Brady's injury certainly had something to do with that but I don't hear anyone calling Moss slow and washed-up.
Basically my point is this: I don't have much of a problem with what T.O. said but I do have a problem with his timing. It shows poor judgment. But it's not out of character and we knew he'd be like this. He's always like this. So I don't see why it's a big deal.
Of course, I'm sure a lot of sportswriters and other lower forms of plankton (cough JFE, Galloway, Skip Brainless cough) will disagree with me and say this is the beginning of Armageddon.
Again, I just don't see it.
Video preview of the Dallas-S.F. game.
I'm starting to get those chills I always get when we play the Niners. As some of you know, I grew up in Cali and I currently live on the cusp of Northern California. This is mostly Raider Nation but every now and then Niner fans slither into the sunlight. They really are like battered pets. They've been bad for so long all they can do is sheepishly cheer while they await the next disastrous play.
That won't stop me from ridiculing them though! The local radio station out here actually had a contest asking people to name at least five current 49ers for a prize. I'm still waiting for the winner.
In two of the last three games the Dallas D has been showing some signs of life. Yeah the running game sprung a leak against the Giants but even in that game the D created some turnovers and got to the QB. Against the Bucs and Redskins the D, in Josh Ellis's opinion was, dare we say, dominant at times.
Tashard Choice should see more carries Sunday. I'm predicting 5 carries and 40 yards.
J.A. Adande brought Snoop Dogg on Around the Horn recently. Our local scribe Tom Cowlishaw brought bupkis.
C'mon Cowlishaw. Represent for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Maybe next time you can bring Tim McGraw. Or maybe even Clint Bowyer. Dude your on Nascar Now. You can swing that.
Ladd Biro set the scene of a wedding in Texas Stadium. Then he jumps back on the Cowboy fantasy bandwagon now that Romo's playing again.
More fantasy matchups for Sunday's game. Hint: start Frank Gore and Tony Romo.
Surprise. Surprise. The celebrity QB of the Cowboys is actually a nice guy. I can just imagine the carnage that would ensue if a homeless man came up to Joe Theismann. And I'm sure Donovan McNabb would ask, "There are homeless people in this country?"