SportsGirl

If you listen carefully, you’ll start to hear the sound of an entire fan base in Dallas getting very excited about their chances for going deep in the playoffs this season. And for the first time in many years, they’re not off their rockers. The Dallas Cowboys are off to a 3-0 start and are looking pretty good. I’m not ready to book my ticket to Arizona but I do feel like they have a real shot at regaining some of their previous post-season glory.

Everyone expected that the defense would be the story this season. With a guy like Wade Phillips at the helm, a self-anointed great defensive coordinator, that defense would gel and would be ranked up there with the Bears in terms of dominance. The funny thing is, it’s really the offense that has stolen the show, thanks in large part to Jason Garrett and his fairly aggresive play calling. There was a lot of talk that Jerry Jones made the wrong move in hiring Garrett before a head coach was selected. Any new head coach is going to want to hand-pick their staff. And I’m not sure I ever truly believed that Jason Garrett was going to be the head coach this year, so it was pretty obvious that he would be the OC. But it’s turning out to be a really good move. Tony Romo’s numbers have been outstanding; so much so that people are including him in the discussion of who the best quarterbacks are in the league. And the Romo to Owens connection has been productive enough that we haven’t heard any bellyaching from TO so far (always have to include the “so far” with him). I’ve been very impressed with Romo’s pocket presence and his ability to dodge a few tackles and still make the throw. I’d say his contract negotiations are getting easier by the game. The defense is where I have the most questions still, which again is probably the opposite of what people thought before the season began.

When I think of the defense that’s been truly dominating so far I think of the Patriots. They’re allowing on average 11.7 points per game and only 207 total yards of offense. That is dominance. Then you have the Cowboys who are ranked 21st in defense, allowing on average 21.7 points per game and 337 total yards of offense. For a team that’s got the “Phillips 3-4″ defense in place, that’s not that great. It’s not bad, considering the losses they’ve suffered on defense due to injury, but it’s certainly not where I’d expect them to be. Miami’s defense is ranked above the Cowboys, for goodness sake!

But if they can have the start to the season that they’ve had, and they have the above-mentioned problems on defense, imagine where this team could go when they get healthy. Or get Tank Johnson, if he turns out to be a good signing. They’re ranked 2nd in the league on offense, so some slight improvement on D and we may just be able to live up to the pre-season hype that some people were pushing!

One quick note on Sunday night’s game. I love how the Bears thought they were LSU and tried the fake field goal. Do you think Lovie Smith watched the LSU game and thought it might be a good trick to have in his back pocket in case they were getting shellacked during a game? If you pull a stunt like that when your team is demoralized, you’ve got to realize the outcome can only be really good or really, really bad. It will never just be “oh, whoops that didn’t work. let’s move on”. And that was an ill-fated play from the snap, so I was a little surprised that Smith would even consent to trying it! Almost as if he had already given up at that point…

Up next for the Boys is the St. Louis Rams, a team that is already banged up on offense and who can’t seem to scrape together a win this season. This is one of those games that I think can be a trap. You get a little over confident about your ability, especially against an 0-3 team, and you let your guard down. So I don’t think it’s a gimme, but it ought to be as darn close to a gimme game as the Boys will see…at least until the next week when we play Buffalo. On second thought, I might want to check on what kind of deal American Airlines is running to Arizona in February!

I suppose the signing of defensive lineman Tank Johnson to the Cowboys was inevitable. The loss of Jason Ferguson leaves a big hole at nose tackle, one that Jeremiah Ratliff probably can’t fill all season. And this is a defense that’s already suffering from the loss of Terrance Newman and Greg Ellis, which was painfully evident at multiple times during their last two games. Plus, I have actually found myself thinking that Terrell Owens is not creating a circus around the team this year so we’re well over-due for our next head case. (more on that scary fact later)

About the best thing I can say on this signing is that, when he’s eligible to play in November, Johnson might actually be pretty good and create a large impact on the defense at a time when even the best teams need a shot in the arm to stay competitive. And the Boys will only be on the hook for about $250,000 this year and as little as $600,000 next year so it’s not like it will kill them in the salary cap if he flames out, or gets arrested on new weapons charges thus prompting a fresh suspension from Commissioner Goodell.

Now for the potential down-side…just re-read the above sentence. Any time a player has to get permission from a judge to be able to travel out of state for the Super Bowl, that’s probably evidence of a slight character issue. But this is a franchise that’s been willing to overlook some character issues, as long as the W’s keep piling up. And to some extent, I’m ok with that. Because to me, there are two kinds of character issues. There’s the kind where someone has a few off-the-field incidents that show poor judgement on their part but that don’t really distract from the team or the player’s overall productivity. Then there’s the Leonard Little “I killed someone while I was driving drunk” or the Terrell Owens “I destroyed an entire locker room and potentially indirectly lead to the demise of a true big-time quarterback’s career” type of character issues. (And Pac Man Jones gets lumped in there too, I don’t care if he’s never actually been charged with murder or assault. Guilty by association buddy. Your parents got it right all those years ago when they warned you about this) Those big types of character issues are going to carry increased ramifications in the Goodell era of the NFL, especially if you’re exhibiting a pattern of bad behavior. They have the potential to set a franchise back several years, especially when they sink TO-type money into a marginal-character player. And I don’t think we know yet which group Tank Johnson belongs to. He says he’s not worried about this go-’round; that he’s not even thinking about whether or not this is his proverbial last-shot. That’s great that he’s so confident but I’m not sure I trust the judgement of a man who, while serving an NFL suspension for his weapons charges gets arrested for drunk driving. What is it with these athletes getting popped for drunk driving? Seriously, if I can afford the $20 cab ride home when I think I’ve had too much, I’m guessing the multi-million dollar athletes ought to be able to scare up a few bucks to get a limo for the night. For goodness sake, pay someone to be part of your entourage and their sole function is to be your designated driver. How difficult is that? I think that the ones that get arrested for this truly just believe they’re above the law and they believe nothing is going to happen to them. And sadly it doesn’t take the mega-bucks to see this type of attitude in mainstream society. But I digress…

Bottom line: I’m not thrilled with the Tank Johnson signing but I’m not going to lambaste the Cowboys just yet. Because if Johnson can fly on the straight and narrow and he helps cover some of the holes in the defense, then Jerry Jones might start looking pretty smart. At which point I may have to move, but again, I digress…

As the opening weekend of the new NFL season comes to a close (I’m writing this as I’m watching the Ravens and Bengals play part 1 of the 2-part MNF debut) I figured I’d comment on some of the highs and lows of the weekend.

Highs

The Cowboys played a heck of a game on Sunday! Now, I was a little underwhelmed with their defense, but in their defense, they were playing without Greg Ellis, Terrance Newman and they lost Jason Ferguson during the game. And when your offense is scoring 45 points, that can cover a few holes in a swiss-cheese defense!

New England and Houston both won their season openers, and in fairly decisive fashion I might add. The Patriots look like their going to have a wide-spread offensice attack this season and look like they have a real shot at winning their division, possibly even the AFC. Houston played the KC Chiefs so it’s hard to say if the win is indicative of the rest of their season, but hey, a win is a win and winning your season opener is a great building block for the spirit of the team.

Lows

Worst part of the weekend by far would be the injury to the Buffalo Bills Kevin Everrett. The most recent updates I’ve seen indicate that a full recovery is unlikely and I cannot even imagine how devestating that would be. I broke my back as a child and only now as an adult can I comprehend how serious the injury could have been. I was lucky enough to suffer no permanent damange, save for a few aches when it’s rainy outside. So my prayers go out to that young man and his family.

Not nearly as severe, but shocking in it’s own right, is the allegation surfacing that a member of the Patriots organization was caught taping the Jet’s coaching staff to steal their signals. If this is true, and I’m desperately hoping it’s not, I’m not even sure what the sanctions against the team should be. With all of the promise that team is exhibiting thus far, I find it inconceiveable that the organization would condone or promote that type of behavior. Bill Belichick just doesn’t strike me like the kind of coach that would even accept that information during the game, if a rogue member of the team happened to gather it. If he did, if he had any knowledge of this, or heaven forbid if it was his idea, I think he deserves to be fired. Unacceptable!

Matt Leinart just got picked off in his first pass of the season. Not that I particularly love him or hate him, but that sucks. Rough start.

I’m just happy that I can rest easy tonight knowing that I have an entire season to look forward to. I’m hopeful for more highs than lows but either way you slice it, it’s football baby!

I had the opportunity to attend the pre-season game against the Denver Broncos and I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. The Boys looked to be in pretty good shape for the up-coming season. Now, in a side note, I have to say whoever designed Texas Stadium forgot one tiny detail…the fact that it’s located in TEXAS!! That has to be the most humid place on Earth. There is no form of air conditioning and on Saturday night, no air moving through. In the middle of August that makes for an uncomfortable viewing experience. Not to mention the crazy drunk lady sitting next to me, cheering loudly for the Broncos and offering me sips of her drink…

So mugginess aside, I was impressed with what I saw on the field. Tony Romo looked sharp, which I somewhat expect. What I didn’t expect was for Marion Barber to stand out like he did. His stats don’t tell the whole tale. I think he rushed for almost 60 yards in about a half a game. But the way he was able to break tackles and keep adding yards after he’d been caught was awesome! We didn’t see a whole lot of Julius Jones but I’m not disappointed. I predict that he and Barber will emerge as one of the best 1-2 punches in the league this season. And with Romo looking like he’ll prove that last season wasn’t a fluke, that might just mean we’ll actually achieve the post-season success we’ve been so desperately seeking.

As for the defense, their ability to rush the passer looks good. Even if they are breaking some code of ethics that John Lynch wants to whine about. I realize that’s a whole different topic but if the fans are paying regular season prices to see the pre-season game, it’s bad enough that the starters play for all of a quarter before being benched; to expect the teams to not play a physical game is just ridiculous. Now, I’m not sure if the Dallas defense really is this good or if Jay Cutler is going to be that bad. I like Denver, always been a Shannahan fan, and I’ve got nothing against Cutler so I’m hoping it’s a little of each.

So for now, my interest in the upcoming season has officially been piqued. I may actually have to openly root for the Boys! Still don’t like Wade Phillips but I realize I don’t have much of a choice in that matter, for this season at least. I’m hopeful that Bill Cower will decide that retirement is for the birds and he’ll discover that Dallas is just the place for him. Until then, maybe Wade can take a lesson from his father, the great Bum Phillips. Bum was reportedly seen at the Houston Texans practice talking with fans and media-types and passing out samples from his new Bum Phillips Smoked Meats collection. Awesome.

Football, that is. Well, pre-season to be exact, but still it’s something other than baseball. (no offense baseball) You know, I’ll happily attend a baseball game, especially when I know the hot dogs will be good. But I just can’t get into watching baseball on tv. Maybe it’s because we’re currently celebrating Barry Bonds’ assention into Home Run King status. Gag.

But my beloved football is here again! Of course, I’m watching the Cowboys and so far through a quarter and a half, I’m pleased with what I’m seeing. Now, if you lived here in Dallas, you’d probably be as sick as I am with everyone practically drooling over this year’s squad. I’m not ready to annoint them as the NFC champs. But from what I’m seeing, I’m definitely of the mindset that they at least stand a chance. Other than the fact that poor Marion Barber can’t seem to gain a single yard, the offensive line isn’t doing a bad job of blocking, even with some backups at tackle. I like what I’m seeing with Tony Romo; so far he’s making good decisions and is completing some long passes. Not bad, Boys! Not bad.

Now again, we’re talking about 2 quarters of pre-season football. Last season I think the Boys had the right pieces, it was just execution that stood in their way. Yes, they want to blame it on Parcells and say he stifled the offense. But having a “genius” defensive minded coach as your leader doesn’t automatically guaranty you’ll execute well. Still can’t get used to the fact that Wade Phillips is the man generating so much excitement here in this city, but hopefully I’ll be proven wrong. The big D gets so darn gloomy when the Boys aren’t doing well!