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Web-posted Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Pondering perplexing pigskin points
By Roger Clarkson
Opinion
The NFL training camps opened this week. That means football season has officially begun.
Mundane chores like yard work and home repairs can wait until next spring because pigskins will fly every weekend from now until the first Sunday in February.
Before we get any further, we should give a hearty pat on the back to the Texas Rangers. They did their job. They held our interest until Cowboy camp opened. They've begun their August swoon pretty much on schedule which coincides with Tuna and the guys reporting for two-a-days.
This is a special time of year. Everybody is confident. Everybody is in the playoff hunt. Coaches are still fresh-faced and have a full head of hair. The reality of the season has not yet set in when they realize their linemen can't block, their backs don't hold onto the ball and their defense won't tackle.
Now might be a good time to examine some of the burning questions while everybody is still tied for first place.
NO. 1: WILL THE COWBOYS IMPROVE?
No, in the short term, yes, by the end of December. With a new quarterback and untested defensive 3-4 alignment, Dallas will struggle the first third of the season. Things should start falling into place about Halloween and they should find their stride in time for Thanksgiving. Watch for the Cowboys to finish 9-7 and at least play for a playoff spot the final week.
NO. 2: WHAT HAPPENS IF THE COWBOYS DON'T IMPROVE?
Jerry Jones is not known for his patience. If Dallas collapses in the last half of the season, watch for Jones' "socks and jocks" mentality to return and reassert his absolute control of football operations. This would cause friction with Bill Parcells and likely lead to his leaving in January. Jones has fired Hall of Fame caliber coaches before.
NO. 3: WILL THE PATRIOTS WIN A THIRD STRAIGHT SUPER BOWL?
Don't think so. Even before the age of free agency and a salary cap, three-peats were rare and no NFL team has won three straight league titles since the Packers reeled off a trio after the 1965-67 seasons. New England is not immune to the injury bug and it has already been bitten with Tedy Bruschi's stroke. A lot of things have gone right for the Patriots the last two years. This season the momentum will switch.
NO. 4: WILL THE TEXANS BE ANY GOOD?
The nicknames and uniforms might have changed but this is still Houston we're talking about. The Texans made only a token effort to improve an offensive line that sank faster than the Harris County water table. David Carr has been sacked so many times the last three years that he is starting to look like a modern-day Archie Manning. Until the Texans' line improves, they will languish in the oblivion of not being good enough to make the playoffs nor bad enough to get a franchise-bolstering draft pick.
NO. 5: ARE THE EAGLES BETTER OFF WITH OR WITHOUT TERRELL OWENS?
If Philadelphia wants to win the Super Bowl, Owens must play. TO has decided to report to camp without a re-negotiated contract but warns he won't be happy. Has anybody else noticed that TO plays best when he's feeling surly? Philadelphia already knows he is mouthy, arrogant, a complete jerk and does not care what even his own teammates think of him.
But he catches clutch passes and a lot of them. The Eagles will overlook Owens' excesses as long as they win football games and they will win as long as TO gets his PT. But don't expect Donovan McNabb to throw TO a going-away party after his contract expires.
NO. 6: CAN SOUTHERN CAL REPEAT AS NATIONAL CHAMPIONS?
If the Trojans don't at least play for the title, it would be an upset. USC lost only two starters off last year's team and returns nearly every playmaker, including Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart at quarterback. Pete Carroll can pick and choose among the best talent coming out of Southern California and that is a considerable advantage. Carroll is riding a thoroughbred right now and it does not look like it will get winded any time soon.
NO. 7: WILL ANYBODY OTHER THAN OKLAHOMA OR TEXAS WIN THE BIG 12?
No easy answer here. Texas is favored but that does not mean anything. Oklahoma is rebuilding but that might not mean anything either. Traditional Big 12 North powers Kansas State and Nebraska were shells of their former selves last year. Scandal-plagued Colorado will start feeling the effects of ineffective recruiting soon. Iowa State, Missouri and Kansas are still Iowa State, Missouri and Kansas and we're not talking about basketball.
In the South, Dennis Franchione is in the third year of his Texas A&M administration so the Aggies should contend at least for a while. Texas Tech continues to play indifferent defense. Oklahoma State will have growing pains with a new coach. Baylor should be better, but that's a relative term for the Bears. After thinking about it, naw. It's either UT or OU.
NO. 8: DOES KIMBROUGH MEMORIAL STADIUM HAVE ENOUGH LIGHT BULBS IN THE SCOREBOARD TO KEEP UP DURING WEST TEXAS A&M GAMES?
Former Dusters coach Don Carthel takes over a team with a passing offense and inexperienced defense. That's a recipe for scores resembling an arena game. Unfortunately for the Buffs, they have to stop somebody and they haven't done that much lately.
Carthel will install a new defense but it might be a year before those changes show up in the results. Just to be sure, the City of Canyon better order another shipment of bulbs. Remember, the Eagles and the Raiders play there too.
NO. 9: HOW DIFFERENT WILL DEFENDING CLASS 1A STATE FINALIST STRATFORD LOOK?
Like Pamela Anderson before and after. Stratford graduated about everybody except head coach Eddie Metcalf so expect fresh, unshaven faces and the mistakes that come with them. But the Elk Nation shouldn't worry too much. The junior varsity went 8-0 last season.
NO. 10: WILL THE UNDER ARMOUR GUYS PROTECT THEIR HOUSE?
Don't know. Don't care. Go away.
Roger Clarkson is a sports writer for the Globe-News. He can be reached at roger.clarkson@amarillo.com or 345-3315.
Pondering perplexing pigskin points
By Roger Clarkson
Opinion
The NFL training camps opened this week. That means football season has officially begun.
Mundane chores like yard work and home repairs can wait until next spring because pigskins will fly every weekend from now until the first Sunday in February.
Before we get any further, we should give a hearty pat on the back to the Texas Rangers. They did their job. They held our interest until Cowboy camp opened. They've begun their August swoon pretty much on schedule which coincides with Tuna and the guys reporting for two-a-days.
This is a special time of year. Everybody is confident. Everybody is in the playoff hunt. Coaches are still fresh-faced and have a full head of hair. The reality of the season has not yet set in when they realize their linemen can't block, their backs don't hold onto the ball and their defense won't tackle.
Now might be a good time to examine some of the burning questions while everybody is still tied for first place.
NO. 1: WILL THE COWBOYS IMPROVE?
No, in the short term, yes, by the end of December. With a new quarterback and untested defensive 3-4 alignment, Dallas will struggle the first third of the season. Things should start falling into place about Halloween and they should find their stride in time for Thanksgiving. Watch for the Cowboys to finish 9-7 and at least play for a playoff spot the final week.
NO. 2: WHAT HAPPENS IF THE COWBOYS DON'T IMPROVE?
Jerry Jones is not known for his patience. If Dallas collapses in the last half of the season, watch for Jones' "socks and jocks" mentality to return and reassert his absolute control of football operations. This would cause friction with Bill Parcells and likely lead to his leaving in January. Jones has fired Hall of Fame caliber coaches before.
NO. 3: WILL THE PATRIOTS WIN A THIRD STRAIGHT SUPER BOWL?
Don't think so. Even before the age of free agency and a salary cap, three-peats were rare and no NFL team has won three straight league titles since the Packers reeled off a trio after the 1965-67 seasons. New England is not immune to the injury bug and it has already been bitten with Tedy Bruschi's stroke. A lot of things have gone right for the Patriots the last two years. This season the momentum will switch.
NO. 4: WILL THE TEXANS BE ANY GOOD?
The nicknames and uniforms might have changed but this is still Houston we're talking about. The Texans made only a token effort to improve an offensive line that sank faster than the Harris County water table. David Carr has been sacked so many times the last three years that he is starting to look like a modern-day Archie Manning. Until the Texans' line improves, they will languish in the oblivion of not being good enough to make the playoffs nor bad enough to get a franchise-bolstering draft pick.
NO. 5: ARE THE EAGLES BETTER OFF WITH OR WITHOUT TERRELL OWENS?
If Philadelphia wants to win the Super Bowl, Owens must play. TO has decided to report to camp without a re-negotiated contract but warns he won't be happy. Has anybody else noticed that TO plays best when he's feeling surly? Philadelphia already knows he is mouthy, arrogant, a complete jerk and does not care what even his own teammates think of him.
But he catches clutch passes and a lot of them. The Eagles will overlook Owens' excesses as long as they win football games and they will win as long as TO gets his PT. But don't expect Donovan McNabb to throw TO a going-away party after his contract expires.
NO. 6: CAN SOUTHERN CAL REPEAT AS NATIONAL CHAMPIONS?
If the Trojans don't at least play for the title, it would be an upset. USC lost only two starters off last year's team and returns nearly every playmaker, including Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart at quarterback. Pete Carroll can pick and choose among the best talent coming out of Southern California and that is a considerable advantage. Carroll is riding a thoroughbred right now and it does not look like it will get winded any time soon.
NO. 7: WILL ANYBODY OTHER THAN OKLAHOMA OR TEXAS WIN THE BIG 12?
No easy answer here. Texas is favored but that does not mean anything. Oklahoma is rebuilding but that might not mean anything either. Traditional Big 12 North powers Kansas State and Nebraska were shells of their former selves last year. Scandal-plagued Colorado will start feeling the effects of ineffective recruiting soon. Iowa State, Missouri and Kansas are still Iowa State, Missouri and Kansas and we're not talking about basketball.
In the South, Dennis Franchione is in the third year of his Texas A&M administration so the Aggies should contend at least for a while. Texas Tech continues to play indifferent defense. Oklahoma State will have growing pains with a new coach. Baylor should be better, but that's a relative term for the Bears. After thinking about it, naw. It's either UT or OU.
NO. 8: DOES KIMBROUGH MEMORIAL STADIUM HAVE ENOUGH LIGHT BULBS IN THE SCOREBOARD TO KEEP UP DURING WEST TEXAS A&M GAMES?
Former Dusters coach Don Carthel takes over a team with a passing offense and inexperienced defense. That's a recipe for scores resembling an arena game. Unfortunately for the Buffs, they have to stop somebody and they haven't done that much lately.
Carthel will install a new defense but it might be a year before those changes show up in the results. Just to be sure, the City of Canyon better order another shipment of bulbs. Remember, the Eagles and the Raiders play there too.
NO. 9: HOW DIFFERENT WILL DEFENDING CLASS 1A STATE FINALIST STRATFORD LOOK?
Like Pamela Anderson before and after. Stratford graduated about everybody except head coach Eddie Metcalf so expect fresh, unshaven faces and the mistakes that come with them. But the Elk Nation shouldn't worry too much. The junior varsity went 8-0 last season.
NO. 10: WILL THE UNDER ARMOUR GUYS PROTECT THEIR HOUSE?
Don't know. Don't care. Go away.
Roger Clarkson is a sports writer for the Globe-News. He can be reached at roger.clarkson@amarillo.com or 345-3315.
