Hey Zebra! Is Your Rulebook in Braille?

TO makes a catch and is shoved out, but you ruled it incomplete.

The next play Matt McBriar gets levelled, and you looked the other way.

Roy Williams horse-collars a receiver, you give him a 5-yard facemask instead.

You completely ignore Newmann's late-hit out-of-bounds ON THE SAME PLAY.

Buffalo's right Tackle is caught on-camera holding defenders by the jersey repeatedly,
you spent your time wiping your glasses.

TO has a defender hanging all over him, his BACK to the ball, during the two-point try.
You never flinched. Instead, you waited til both TO's feet hit the ground, ball-in-hand (at which point the play is technically over), and rule pass incomplete.

So we look-up oxymoron in Webster's dictionary:
Military Intelligence
Postal Service
Jumbo Shrimp
Buffalo Bills Officiating

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Yea, Tony Romo had a crapola game. 'Nuff said.
Cowboys still won. 'Nuff said.
Craziest nail-biter in MNF history. 'Nuff said.

We got the kinks out, still have a goose-egg in the loss column.
Bring on the Hatriots!

My first half thoughts

I am not usually one to blame the refs, but it has been border-line ridiculous. The call against TO for pass interference was laughable. The non-call for interference on the guy guarding Crayton was obvious... the guy had the arm-bar on him throughout the play. Not to mention the last play of the half. Maybe it's non-reviewable, but it was a bad call. These were big calls that really impacted the game.

Flozell had a first half to forget. He started off in the first series with an olay on his pass rusher that ended up with Tony getting sacked for a big loss. Add in some really untimely false starts that made a tough task even tougher. He is killing us.

The Patrick Crayton drop... do I even need to elaborate on that one? That was some serious bad karma that lead to a blocked field goal. Doh. They got their dose as well though.

We are going to have to throw the ball to set up the run. We were doing a pretty good job of that for a stretch. Gotta keep that up. Do we even have positive rushing yardage?

I know we don't want to give up big plays, but we can't play THAT far off the WR's? We are making it way too easy for them.

And Don't Do It AGAIN!

Roger Goodell, you’re a hypocrite!

A FINE for Belichick?
CONDITIONAL draft picks lost?
What a farce.

Wade Wilson tries to alleviate a diagnosed medical condition and he’s suspended for a quarter of the season.
Last time I checked, a QB coaches’ diet has no influence on the outcome of a game.

Belichik videotapes his opponents’ signals (which DIRECTLY influences the current game on the field AND future contests within his division), he pays a fine, and is allowed to continue to coach?

No way, Goodell.
For all your good intentions your reign as Commissioner is officially a travesty.

Belichick’s deeds have soiled the face of your league MUCH worse than Michael Vick’s criminal abuse or Adam Jones’ profound stupidity. I submit, Commissioner, that Belichick’s actions directly equate with those of Pete Rose, Paul Hornung or former NBA referee Tim Donaghy.

The very least Belichik deserves is a suspension from all NFL interaction for NO LESS than Wilson’s suspension,
preferably no less than Hornung’s,
and ideally identical to Rose’s.

I agree with the sanctions you’ve levied on the Patriot’s organization, as management’s complicity seems to still be of a debatable nature.
However, you’ve let the true criminal in this felony walk the streets and return to work with a slap on the wrist, and in so doing you’ve done NOTHING in the eyes of NFL fans to clean the stain he’s left in his wake.

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Commissioner, you stated:
"This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid
longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest
competition on the playing field”
... but sign the check and be at work tomorrow morning anyway.

Mr. Goodell, your inaction represents a similar calculated and deliberate attempt: to side-step longstanding precedent, (including your own precedent), and to promote lip-service over true discipline.

Up to this point you’ve been a “hangin’ judge”, unafraid to sandblast the dirty toilets you’ve encountered.
With this disgrace, you’ve merely spritzed a little air freshener into a criminally foul and overflowing latrine.

Target practice for QB's

• What do you do with Roy Williams? His production is on a downward spiral and he seems to be content with his play. Fat contract and even fatter ass. He needs a wake-up call for sure. What to do?

• I have never been on the "start Barber" bandwagon... but I am starting to wonder if that switch might make some sense. Let Barber pound them for a while and then bring in the speedier guy as a change-up. Not too much to worry about though... rushing game is not a problem at this point. Barber is a beast.

• Romo was incredible. A little off with TO in the first half, but he was incredible when it counted. Jerry... Sign him RIGHT NOW!

• I am not getting too excited about the lack of pass-rush from this defense. It was obvious that they were being a little conservative with T-New out. Let's see what they do when they get a little bit healthier. Take your time and get T-New back to 100%. We are going to need him later on in the season.

• McBriar is a machine.

A New Captain at the Helm

Wade Phillips is now steering the Valley Ranch love boat.

Personally I'm glad to see JJ chose a coach with a background in Defense, especially one with a good track record leading a 3-4. JJ's spent so much time, energy, draft picks and free-agent money building a 3-4 it only makes sense to pursue someone who can effectively steer such a ship.

And good for JJ, he picked one who's shown a GREAT aptitude for it.
This is exactly what this dingy needs, at least on that side of the ball.

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Initially I winced at the thought of Phillips coming to Dallas, judging him solely by his record at his previous head-coaching ports of call.

His track record thus far as a head coach is not stellar:
45-35 distills to 9-7 over a 16 game season.
But remember, 10-6 usually means Playoffs.

Consider this:
Most first-time head coaches require a few years at the helm before things gel. One could make the case that he's paid his "first few years dues" in Denver and Buffalo, and hopefully therefore has put the initial rough waters largely behind him.

He's much more experienced now that he was at either of those two previous beachings. It's a safe bet he's pirated a few pieces of treasure working with Marty in San Diego.

Another thing in his favor here:
He's inheriting much more talent in Dallas than he did elsewhere.
In Buffalo he had an aging, past-it's-prime team. Lots of "last-years" superstars and Pro-Bowlers who made it in more on their continued popularity than sustained excellence. They made the playoffs, but were clearly circling the drain at that point.
In Denver he had Elway and Atwater.

In Dallas he walks into a top-5 offense with huge potential at QB, RB and TE.
He also is given an immense amount of heretofore underutilized, misguided and unexploited talent on D.
Since D is his specialty one can reasonably expect great improvement therein.

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With all this said, we could be seeing a very shiny new ship leaving port.

The Boys have a very good offense now driven by a new First Mate OC who's young, enthusiastic and not bound by the late '80's NFL mindset; and a HC who knows how to use his defensive tools and is unafraid to plunder a rich bounty.

Smooth-sailing from the start?
Unlikely.
Plenty of reasons to expect choppy seas:
1. TO
2. O-line
3. TO
4. 31
5. TO

But plenty of reasons also to expect cool breezes and pina coladas in the near future!

Sorry Charlie

Time to dish myself some crow now.

Four years ago I thought Tuna would get us at least to the Conference Championship game before he left town.
I figured by year 4 we'd be there, Tuna would split, we'd inherit a Tuna-Junior and be set for another go.

Well, here we are.
Four years of Tuna and what have we to show for it?
Pass the ketchup...


1. A fluke playoff season, featuring Quincy Carter at Quarterback and the NFL's best Defense,
2. That same Defense subsequently dismantled and rebuilt into a mediocre 3-4,
3. A 2-year body of work showcasing Vinny "Methuselah Lives" Testaverde and Drew "Cement Feet" Bledsoe,
4. An influx of overpriced, over-rated Free Agents,
5. An abandoned ship that seemed so close to sailing at full speed,
and
6. No clue where to turn from here.

To be fair, we DO have several fairly successful recent draft picks, enough to conceivably build a team around, including a budding quarterback (albeit one who needs some tough love).

So you could say that Tuna's stay was successful, since we're arguably in better shape now than when he rode into town.

But I don't remember anyone ever paying an architect so much
just to lay a foundation,
nor do I remember an architect leaving his project
before that foundation has even dried.


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What will the new Sheriff at Valley Ranch inherit?

1. An undermanned, piecemeal coaching staff,
2. A potential Running Back controversy,
3. The question of Terry Glenn's future (will he want to stay in Dallas now?),
and
4. An 81-TOn, multi-million-dollar albatross with bad hands and worse attitude.

To again be fair to Tuna, we can lay some of this on Jerry Jones. We know he's a bear to work for, with his meddlesome personnel decisions and domineering ways.

I've heard it said recently that Tuna has, at least, put the shine back on the star enough that coaching in Dallas is no longer the dead-end it was perceived to be after Jones completely hamstrung Chan Gailey and Dave Campo.

However, I've also heard that you can't polish a turd.
Jerry may not quite approach Al Davis's machinations in scale, but he's not far behind,
and it's threfore hard to picture anyone JUMPING at the chance to move to the Metroplex.

Let's just pray that he has the cojones this time to hire someone who ALSO has cojones; someone who will stand-up to him when needed.

Help Wanted

From Todd Archer, Dallas Morning News:

We still don't know if Bill Parcells is coming back in 2007 or beyond.
Yes, beyond.

If he comes back he could have up to five openings on his staff.
The primo job is as defensive coordinator, and the Cowboys could be in a position to land the best 3-4 coordinator in the business.

With Pittsburgh hiring Mike Tomlin, a believer in the Tampa-2 scheme, the Steelers long-time coordinator Dick LeBeau could be available. He has a contract, so the Steelers would have to grant permission to allow LeBeau to leave.

LeBeau invented the 3-4, zone blitz scheme used by the Steelers on a napkin. It's slightly different than the 3-4 the Cowboys use because it is more of an attacking scheme.
>>> Wouldn't THAT be great!!!?<<<

LeBeau turns 70 in September, but having spent plenty of time around the coach in Cincinnati, the man is going on 45. He is amazing. And he should be considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When he retired he had 62 interceptions, which was third-most at the time he left the game.