Ready or Not, Here I come. . . .

Game Preparation

Thanksgiving Day and the Dallas Cowboys. That move got made in the sixties and arguably is one of the things that makes the Cowboys "America's Team". Having that game every year on their schedule gives them national recognition, no doubt. Those of us who have watched them for years have seen great games and horrible games. But the Cowboys are 23-14-1 on Thanksgiving Day.

Detroit also plays every year on Thanksgiving Day, but they don't have five SuperBowl trophies in the lobby of their home office. No, the Cowboys, by marketing and winning have propelled themselves into the position of "America's Team". The Cowboys are very much like me. Folks either love them or they hate them. There's very little apathy to be found. Many football fans of other teams hate when they hear that "America's Team" monicker. But it's hard to argue with success and although the Cowboys have had very little of that lately, the general expectation is that they are a team on their way back.

But this article isn't about expectations or whether the Cowboys deserve that "America's Team" designation. It's about game preparation. The Cowboys have a very distinct advantage in the Thanksgiving Day game. They have a history of having to get prepared in four days for a huge, nationally televised game. Since this game is in November, late in the season, at this point every game becomes a big game, even without the national spotlight. The Cowboys need this win to confirm their turnaround, to maintain the momentum they are beginning to build. So this game is a big one.

They just played a big one. And won it. And now, with 4 days available, three actually since they play on the 4th, they have to get ready. They practiced lightly on Monday. Tuesday, they practiced. The coaches had begun prepping for this game against Tampa Bay last week, so that part of things was already done. They'll practice today also. And I'm sure tomorrow morning, there will be all the immediate pregame preparation.

On the Tampa Bay side of the coin, a team that hasn't played on Thanksgiving Day at least as long as Ronde Barber has been on the team, I watched the game Monday Night, Giants vs Jaguars. Ronde Barber was in the announcer's booth for most of the 2nd quarter. He had come to the game to watch his twin brother play. I was thinking at the time how strange it was for him not to be in Tampa Bay preparing for this game.

This morning, i read this comment by Ronde, regarding the Thanksgiving Day game:

''It's a challenge, but teams have been doing it for years,'' cornerback Ronde Barber said. ''This is our first experience with it. I think Jon (Gruden) will be smart with the schedule.''

You're right, Ronde. Teams have been doing it for years. And 60.5% of those teams went home sucking eggs. And some of those teams actually prepared. According to another article about the upcoming game, the Bucs plan to have only one full practice and a "walkthrough" on Thursday.

Coach Gruden, for the Buccaneers said "You can't practice everything, we've got a lot of young guys playing. I'm a little uneasy about it, but I'm eager to see what we can get done.''

Well, I agree with Gruden that they can't practice everything with only one day's practice. I don't think age comes into factor there. I think it's a matter of time to get it done. The rumormill is just abuzz about Gruden as a potential replacement for Bill Parcells as head coach for the Cowboys. Some have said that this Thanksgiving Day game is an "audition" for that position.

Well, let me be the first to say it. Teams that don't get ready for this game against the Cowboys generally don't win it. If your audition for any position shows that you won't prepare for the audition, what would lead one to think you'd prepare for the actual job? Bill Parcells is taking this game very seriously. I believe the Cowboys players are taking it deadly serious, based on comments all week. They seem to be maintaining their focus and not just riding a high from the win against the Colts.

Bill Parcells has been working on this game since the middle of last week, knowing that it's a big game and that the Cowboys need the win to "get into the tournament". Gruden seems to be acting like this is a preseason game. I don't understand that "lot of younger guys" remark. To me, that would be more reason to have them on the field practicing. No, I think Gruden is dropping the ball on this one. I think preparation will be the key to this game and one side is preparing and the other is not.

I don't usually get into the prediction business, but I'm going out on a limb on this one. The Cowboys will win this game. They'll be prepared and fired up. Tampa Bay will not be prepared and the Dallas defense will stomp on them. It'll be Thanksgiving Day and Terrell Owens is a showboat and loves the big stage, so expect him to come out smoking and stroking. Romo should have a field day. Expect it to be a real ass whupping.

And Gruden, well, let's just say his audition won't go very well.