jday
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...of boredom.
Many of you who recognize my name already are aware of the job I have which involves about 10 hours of work in a 40 hour week. That teamed with the fact that my wife had a baby a day short of two weeks ago, it takes every bit of energy plus several cups of coffee to keep my lids up.
To make matter worse, when I visit the various Cowboy oriented forums, I am subjected to multiple threads debating rather T.O. should stay or go. At this point, my eyes just glaze over the moment I recognize the initials in the subject line. So, in the following I am going to try and put to bed all the myths and all the crazy talk about T.O. and beyond.
1. So there is no further confusion, regardless of what the Cowboys decide to do with T.O., cutting him at this point will actually cost the Cowboys an additional 635,000 (I think) against the Cap. Don't ask me why, but I, at least, know the Cap situation would be made worse by his dismissal. So please stop with the "who we could afford if we did" threads, because they are wrong.
2. Ray Lewis, without a doubt, is a great leader. Rather or not he could bring that attribute with him to the Cowboy's is debatable; though I doubt he could have the same impact he does with Baltimore, considering his tenure with that team. He has earned his role there, and I'm pretty sure he would have to do the same thing here. Considering that he's 34, I doubt he has enough time left in his career to accomplish what he has in Baltimore. Furthermore, he will be asking for more than the Cowboys can currently afford, with their needs in so many other areas, including locking up the best OLB in the game, Demarcus Ware.
3. Tim Tebow. By writing that name, I have made this thread ten times better. Enough said.
4. Kevin Burnett. Chris Canty. Zach Thomas. Tank Johnson. I suppose I'm okay with losing them provided we can draft a player or acquire through Free Agency an adequate replacement. Therein is the rub. Kevin Burnett contributes to both Special Teams and the Dime defense in a big way. Finding a player in either medium for a decent price will be difficult. Chris Canty has finally accepted his role as a blocker eater, which is why you don't hear his name too much in a given game. But, if a 3-4 defense in the NFL leads the league in sacks, the Defensive Lineman are doing their job. You can't ask for much more from these guys, because it ain't easy accepting a role that get's no glory in the scheme of things. Zach Thomas is a leader, is always very prepared (both mentally and physically), and is willing to sacrifice his body for any given play. He will not be easily replaced. Tank Johnson plays behind Jason Ratliff, but is a starting quality 3-4 NT. For the same reasons I would like to see us sow up Canty, so would I like to see Tank stay. But this is just my opinion.
5. Wade Phillips. I was admittedly dissappointed that he wasn't replaced at the end of the season with a coach with a little more experience with success. On the other hand, I also agree that an NFL coach should be given, at least, three years to find success with a team. And I do think he can turn things around without become someone he is not.
6. Jerry Jones. He knows success. His bank account suggest that much. In fact, I would venture to say, he knows more about how to be successful in life than anyone on this blog...of course, I could be wrong. That having been said, I acknowledge that he has made several mistakes, but still reserve hope that he can bring back that winning formula that makes the Cowboys the greatest franchise in the league.
7. Dan Reeves. Regardless of the reasons behind his dismissal, what I think people should find embarrassing is the fact that a consultant was needed to begin with. Besides, you can't measure the success of your coaches at the end of the year if you paid over a million dollars for someone to hold their hand every step of the way.
8. Jason Garrett. By all accounts, he is a smart guy. But sometimes coaches with that type of lack in experience can outsmart themselves. I am reserving hope that JG learned alot from this previous season, not just about the game, but also the value of the team believing in the plays being called. Because once that trust is broken, the execution can't help but suffer. I further believe that JG should place more faith in Romo. I know that might sound crazy to many, but when the game is on the line, Romo has proven that he can make things happen.
9. Tony Romo. In continuation of the above, I recognize that he is beginning to adopt a choker image. But I think there were other circumstances involved in many of these situations that ultimately make Romo look bad. For instance, on Romo's play alone, the Baltimore game was won. It was the defense that lost that game in the closing seconds. Furthermore, the OL fell apart late in the season which kept Romo on the run and uncomfortable in the pocket. Most any QB would have looked bad in that situation.
10. Hope or no hope. This could be debated for the next 7 months, but the truth of the matter is there is nothing that can be offered on this forum as concrete proof to indicate either approach is wrong. Many will say as long as Jerry is the owner, as long as Wade is coach, as long as T.O. is catching balls, as long as Romo is throwing them, etc. this team will never win a play off game. Believe that all you like, while the assertion may prove to be true, the aforementioned common denominators won't be the primary reason for the lack of success. Losing takes a team effort on every play. And when you have losses like this previous season that in many cases where lost by the difference of 1 or 2 plays and only one game kept them out of the play off race, pigeon holing their demise to one person is illogical. It seems like every player, at one point or another, had moments where a lack of focus was apparant. We could critique the play of one player throughout the season all week, bouncing the good against the bad. But at the end of the season, none of that matters until next season when get to see if each of these players learned something from their mistakes. If they didn't, it will be obvious. But until then, be careful in how you approach explain away this horrible season. Please try not to point the finger at one player as the reason for their overall decline.
Alright, I'm running out of stuff to rant about and am looking forward to the colorful response this is sure to inspire. Have a great day!
Many of you who recognize my name already are aware of the job I have which involves about 10 hours of work in a 40 hour week. That teamed with the fact that my wife had a baby a day short of two weeks ago, it takes every bit of energy plus several cups of coffee to keep my lids up.
To make matter worse, when I visit the various Cowboy oriented forums, I am subjected to multiple threads debating rather T.O. should stay or go. At this point, my eyes just glaze over the moment I recognize the initials in the subject line. So, in the following I am going to try and put to bed all the myths and all the crazy talk about T.O. and beyond.
1. So there is no further confusion, regardless of what the Cowboys decide to do with T.O., cutting him at this point will actually cost the Cowboys an additional 635,000 (I think) against the Cap. Don't ask me why, but I, at least, know the Cap situation would be made worse by his dismissal. So please stop with the "who we could afford if we did" threads, because they are wrong.
2. Ray Lewis, without a doubt, is a great leader. Rather or not he could bring that attribute with him to the Cowboy's is debatable; though I doubt he could have the same impact he does with Baltimore, considering his tenure with that team. He has earned his role there, and I'm pretty sure he would have to do the same thing here. Considering that he's 34, I doubt he has enough time left in his career to accomplish what he has in Baltimore. Furthermore, he will be asking for more than the Cowboys can currently afford, with their needs in so many other areas, including locking up the best OLB in the game, Demarcus Ware.
3. Tim Tebow. By writing that name, I have made this thread ten times better. Enough said.
4. Kevin Burnett. Chris Canty. Zach Thomas. Tank Johnson. I suppose I'm okay with losing them provided we can draft a player or acquire through Free Agency an adequate replacement. Therein is the rub. Kevin Burnett contributes to both Special Teams and the Dime defense in a big way. Finding a player in either medium for a decent price will be difficult. Chris Canty has finally accepted his role as a blocker eater, which is why you don't hear his name too much in a given game. But, if a 3-4 defense in the NFL leads the league in sacks, the Defensive Lineman are doing their job. You can't ask for much more from these guys, because it ain't easy accepting a role that get's no glory in the scheme of things. Zach Thomas is a leader, is always very prepared (both mentally and physically), and is willing to sacrifice his body for any given play. He will not be easily replaced. Tank Johnson plays behind Jason Ratliff, but is a starting quality 3-4 NT. For the same reasons I would like to see us sow up Canty, so would I like to see Tank stay. But this is just my opinion.
5. Wade Phillips. I was admittedly dissappointed that he wasn't replaced at the end of the season with a coach with a little more experience with success. On the other hand, I also agree that an NFL coach should be given, at least, three years to find success with a team. And I do think he can turn things around without become someone he is not.
6. Jerry Jones. He knows success. His bank account suggest that much. In fact, I would venture to say, he knows more about how to be successful in life than anyone on this blog...of course, I could be wrong. That having been said, I acknowledge that he has made several mistakes, but still reserve hope that he can bring back that winning formula that makes the Cowboys the greatest franchise in the league.
7. Dan Reeves. Regardless of the reasons behind his dismissal, what I think people should find embarrassing is the fact that a consultant was needed to begin with. Besides, you can't measure the success of your coaches at the end of the year if you paid over a million dollars for someone to hold their hand every step of the way.
8. Jason Garrett. By all accounts, he is a smart guy. But sometimes coaches with that type of lack in experience can outsmart themselves. I am reserving hope that JG learned alot from this previous season, not just about the game, but also the value of the team believing in the plays being called. Because once that trust is broken, the execution can't help but suffer. I further believe that JG should place more faith in Romo. I know that might sound crazy to many, but when the game is on the line, Romo has proven that he can make things happen.
9. Tony Romo. In continuation of the above, I recognize that he is beginning to adopt a choker image. But I think there were other circumstances involved in many of these situations that ultimately make Romo look bad. For instance, on Romo's play alone, the Baltimore game was won. It was the defense that lost that game in the closing seconds. Furthermore, the OL fell apart late in the season which kept Romo on the run and uncomfortable in the pocket. Most any QB would have looked bad in that situation.
10. Hope or no hope. This could be debated for the next 7 months, but the truth of the matter is there is nothing that can be offered on this forum as concrete proof to indicate either approach is wrong. Many will say as long as Jerry is the owner, as long as Wade is coach, as long as T.O. is catching balls, as long as Romo is throwing them, etc. this team will never win a play off game. Believe that all you like, while the assertion may prove to be true, the aforementioned common denominators won't be the primary reason for the lack of success. Losing takes a team effort on every play. And when you have losses like this previous season that in many cases where lost by the difference of 1 or 2 plays and only one game kept them out of the play off race, pigeon holing their demise to one person is illogical. It seems like every player, at one point or another, had moments where a lack of focus was apparant. We could critique the play of one player throughout the season all week, bouncing the good against the bad. But at the end of the season, none of that matters until next season when get to see if each of these players learned something from their mistakes. If they didn't, it will be obvious. But until then, be careful in how you approach explain away this horrible season. Please try not to point the finger at one player as the reason for their overall decline.
Alright, I'm running out of stuff to rant about and am looking forward to the colorful response this is sure to inspire. Have a great day!
uke: !!!!
:laugh2: