Cue Hank Williams Jr. 'cause I'm ready for some football! And even though the original version was good too, the modern version should tell you how I feel. I'm ready to get on with this season, win this playoff game, settle some old scores and get the ring we deserve.
Adam Jones knows what I'm talking about. He's chompin' at the bit.
Jones is not fully reinstated from a yearlong suspension, but this will be his first NFL game since Dec. 31, 2006. Jones won't start, but he's expected to play 1 ½ quarters."I think I pretty much shook the rust," Jones said. "But I got a little more rust I need to shake.
"Like I said before, on the field to my teammates I will always be Pacman. To the [media] I'm Adam Jones. I treat it like a business."
After Jones was traded from Tennessee to the Cowboys on draft day, a plan was implemented so Jones could return to the freewheeling, high-energy cornerback/kick returner the Titans saw for two seasons.
Enter Terrell Owens.
Jones wanted to face Owens every day on every play in training camp.
Owens beat Jones with double moves, stutter steps, stiff-arms, shoulder fakes and pure speed.
"I'm going against one of the best wide receivers in the NFL," Jones said. "There's not too many receivers that's going to give me any problems that T.O. hasn't given me, and I think I got T.O. pretty good.
"I'm a little greedy, so I will bite [when] he gets me on the double moves. Besides that, I feel like I'm almost back."
A friend of mine has been arguing that Jones is the best cornerback on the team now. And if he isn't, he'll be the best cornerback by the end of the year. I don't know about that. The only Pro Bowl CB we have on the team is named Terence Newman. But I can see his point. Jones and his potential are limitless.
Zach Thomas says he doesn't have a concussion problem. And if you don't believe him he's going to hit you in the mouth (Ok. He didn't say that but he sure sounds defensive about it. No pun intended).
Hat tip and shout out to Mullin for his fanpost here.
The greatest basketball player to ever don a Laker jersey was at practice Wednesday. He also brought some stars with him. And guess what? Magic Johnson's a Cowboy fan.
Said Johnson: "I have gone through the same thing what happened to them last season," Johnson said. "I used Boston in '84 and what happened to the Lakers and I remember that feeling and that bad taste in my mouth to motivate me all season."
The Lakers lost to the Celtics in seven games in 1984, then won the NBA title in '85.
Phillips believes Magic's words changed the excitement level of practice on the 13th day of workouts. By the end of the workout, Phillips' defense was sparkling, producing several big interceptions.
"He's a champion and he knows what it takes," Phillip said. "He said a lot of things we emphasize. I think they all got excited. It picked up practice and gave them some energy."
He's the best basketball player I've ever seen. Just my two cents. But I'm a big Laker homer so forget for a minute that a guy named Michael Jordan ever existed.
FOXSports.com has been spewing gallons of haterade recently. First there was this and now a dip back into the pool of negativity. You didn't expect that shower to quit coming did you?
Randy Hill and Peter Schrager debate what seems to be the common theme among football pundits: the 'Boys are either going to be highly successful or crash and burn much to the glee of the Cowboy Hatin' nation. Dominate or implode?
Well. FOXSports.com has done their part.
Any historical appreciation of the NFL will reveal that the Dallas Cowboys have employed more misfits than you'll find at the outlet mall.
With Michael Irvin leading the charge, the White House edition of the Cowboys rolled to three Super Bowl championships.
And it's a safe bet to imagine the alleged off-field distractions of Tony Romo are no match for what qualified as recreation for "Dandy" Don Meredith.
And that's the "pro" Cowboy article.
Who knew the job of a gunner was so difficult? Sam Hurd says like Seal your never going to survive unless you get a little "crazy."
Tight ends coach John Garret breaks it down until it can no longer be broken.
Before Mat McBriar launches a punt, a gunner will know which side of the field he is supposed to target. McBriar is especially adept at pinning returners to the sideline, which makes a gunner's job easier.
"You've got to deal with the guys at the line, then sometimes one guy on the line and someone inside are trying to blow you up 25 yards downfield," Garrett said. "And nobody realizes how long the play is. Say the hang time is 4.5 [seconds], plus the catch, and now you have to tackle somebody. It's a six-, seven-, eight-second play."
Wide receivers do a better job of beating the single- or double-press coverage used by opponents because it's what they deal with going against cornerbacks.
The ability to shoo the defender's hands away allows for a free release. They are more adept at dipping their shoulders and making themselves small to get through the tiniest of cracks. Their quickness off the line also gives the receiver a chance to split the defenders.
Quick. Name the other center on our roster. If you said Cory Proctor you and your fanhood should never be questioned. That's right. This is the guy who becomes the quarterback of our O-line if Andre Gurode goes down.
Jerry doesn't want Chad Pennington and neither do I. Don't we already have a slow QB with no arm strength? I guess I shouldn't be so hard on him. He is pretty accurate.
Some think Tuna might bite and bring him to Miami.
Hat tip and shout out to BoyzRBack and impossiblepete for their fanposts here and here.
I got some flak for dedicating this soul classic to Romo. I admit it was kinda sappy. Maybe this is more appropriate. Now Randy Galloway gets in on the sappiness. I'm telling you guys. It's very hard not to like Antonio.
OXNARD, Calif. — Once you get past the celebrity girlfriend, or girlfriends, since he’s had more than one, and if you can ignore his name and picture constantly showing up in the Hollywood gossip mags and Web sites, Tony Romo is the most grounded, most football-focused, most talented, most I-get-it quarterback the Cowboys have had since ...
Troy. And Roger before Troy. And in between, throw Danny in there, too.
OK, none of the above makes sense, but this column has never been fanatical about making sense. Then again, how can you be a celebrity QB, therefore breaking Big Bill’s hardcore 11th commandment he left with Romo, and still be all that other good stuff?
Because it’s a Tony thing.
Then there's this diddy about the infamous trip.
"Here’s what I was thinking when we took that trip — get some buddies, and get some girls, and on a free weekend, take a trip to the beach, relax, sit around and watch football. Buddies and girls and watching football. I like all that.
"I still feel like I made a good choice. But [with a laugh] I guess it didn’t exactly work out that way. But if we win like I think we can win, all the perception questions will be answered. Just win."
Heck yeah. Buddies, girls and watching football. Add beer to that mix and gentlemen I think you just described heaven.
Quincy Carter says he doesn't want to smoke his life away. Correction. The rest of his life away.
"My focus is doing whatever I have to do to stay out of trouble and out of the newspaper."
Shouldn't that be everyone's focus? Good luck Q.