As many of you are more than well aware, I have been watching and researching this December Meltdown phenomena for several years and commenting on it regularly. I have on numerous occasions stated how identifying the cause of this phenomena has been elusive.
Please be advised that I am very close to solving this mystery and a vital announcement regarding this matter is forthcoming.
Rod
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Uncle Herman
In northwest Louisiana, back in the late 1800's, in a part of Desoto Parish known as the Dollette Hills (pronounced "doley"), there wasn't a dense population. Small communities dotted the landscape, but they were sparse. Very few businesses existed, and many of those were what we'd call saloons. In the early 1900's, my grandfather had settled there and was raising his family there. His sister who lived nearby was also raising her family in that area.
This was the badlands. Where the bandits and bank robbers would hide out from the authorities. These guys were bad and tough and strived to become badder and tougher. None of my bunch were involved with the bank robbing, that I've been able to discover, anyway, but they grew up in that neck of the woods. Folks down in that area weren't considered sissyboys by any means.
My grandfather had a nephew named Arthur Robbins. Arthur had just turned 18 years old when this event occurred. And for the first time was able to go to the saloons legally. Arthur was a man of small stature and had a speech impediment, but that didn't deter him from deciding he would go to the saloon to celebrate his 18th birthday.
So he went. The music was playing and people were drinking and having a good time. Suddenly, the door opens loudly and a man steps in and in a loud voice proclaims "I'm the baddest, toughest man in North Louisiana and I'll whip anyone's ass who says any different."
Well, the crowd backs up against the wall, with no one challenging the man at the door. Arthur, being of small stature, ducked under a table hoping to stay out of the melee that was sure to come. It almost got completely silent for just a moment in the nightclub. From Arthur's vantage point under the table, he saw a pair of legs scoot a chair back and straighten up as the owner of those legs stood up. Arthur heard a voice say "No, I don't think you are the toughest guy in North Louisiana."
Then, from the door, Arthur heard the man at the door say "Oh, Mr. Hendricks, I didn't see YOU here!! And he backed out of the door and left immediately.
The man that belonged to those legs was my dad's brother, Herman Hendricks. Apparently my uncle had quite a reputation in an area where bad was really bad. And tough was really tough. This is a true story and definitely part of family lore now.
Now, what does that have to do with football? Nothing directly. It has to do with swagger. The man at the door walked in with confidence. And swagger. It might have been alcohol induced, but regardless, he had it until he saw Uncle Herman standing there. Before he saw Uncle Herman, the entire population of the nightclub was scared of the man at the door. Except one. When Herman stood up and spoke, the swagger changed. The man at the door lost his confidence and his swagger and did the only smart thing he could think of. He left. From other things I know of Uncle Herman, it was a wise decision. He was tall and lanky, but loaded cross ties by hand for a living.
Uncle Herman had a couple things going for him in that scenario. He had a reputation established. And he had the skills to back up that reputation,
Here's where the Cowboys come into this story. The Cowboys have twelve Pro Bowlers on the team. And other players that are rock solid. The talent and skills are there for the most part. The Cowboys dominated the NFC through 12 games this past season, losing only one of those, and that was to the Patriots. There was little doubt who THE team to beat in the NFC was. And December got here, and something happened to the Cowboys. I don't know if it was loss of concentration, loss of confidence, injuries, an ongoing curse, or what, but the general concensus is they sucked during December. They're like the guy standing at the door. Their swagger left. And the Giants proved to be the tall lanky one in this scenario. The one that said "No, I don't think you are the team to beat in the NFC."
Now, next season will get here, and the Cowboys will be the former NFC East Champions. And regardless of the outcome of the SuperBowl, the Giants will be the NFC Conference Champions. They are THE team to beat as the season begins. The Cowboys, because of the late season collapse will have to play their entire season and a couple playoff games before anyone takes them serious next season. Imagine having to go into the 13th game of the season still unable to have confidence in your own team, or have others have confidence in your team. Unfortunately, that's the scenario that the Cowboys have now created for themselves.
Now, champions stand up and speak loudly and with conviction. Not necessarily with words, but with actions. The only thing that will overcome the personna the Cowboys have created is for them to come into next season and dominate. Not like they did last year, but like the 1992 Cowboys did. Like the Bears did in the 80's. Like the Steelers did in their day. Like the Patriots do today. The Cowboys need to step on the field and strike fear into the other team. That isn't going to happen in the first few games. They don't have that reputation yet. As Yogi Berra said years ago, "this game is 50% physical and 90% mental." It's time for the Cowboys to stand up and say to the Giants and the rest of the world "No, we ARE the team to beat and today's not looking very good for you". And back it up with action. It's time for some earned swagger.
Rod
This was the badlands. Where the bandits and bank robbers would hide out from the authorities. These guys were bad and tough and strived to become badder and tougher. None of my bunch were involved with the bank robbing, that I've been able to discover, anyway, but they grew up in that neck of the woods. Folks down in that area weren't considered sissyboys by any means.
My grandfather had a nephew named Arthur Robbins. Arthur had just turned 18 years old when this event occurred. And for the first time was able to go to the saloons legally. Arthur was a man of small stature and had a speech impediment, but that didn't deter him from deciding he would go to the saloon to celebrate his 18th birthday.
So he went. The music was playing and people were drinking and having a good time. Suddenly, the door opens loudly and a man steps in and in a loud voice proclaims "I'm the baddest, toughest man in North Louisiana and I'll whip anyone's ass who says any different."
Well, the crowd backs up against the wall, with no one challenging the man at the door. Arthur, being of small stature, ducked under a table hoping to stay out of the melee that was sure to come. It almost got completely silent for just a moment in the nightclub. From Arthur's vantage point under the table, he saw a pair of legs scoot a chair back and straighten up as the owner of those legs stood up. Arthur heard a voice say "No, I don't think you are the toughest guy in North Louisiana."
Then, from the door, Arthur heard the man at the door say "Oh, Mr. Hendricks, I didn't see YOU here!! And he backed out of the door and left immediately.
The man that belonged to those legs was my dad's brother, Herman Hendricks. Apparently my uncle had quite a reputation in an area where bad was really bad. And tough was really tough. This is a true story and definitely part of family lore now.
Now, what does that have to do with football? Nothing directly. It has to do with swagger. The man at the door walked in with confidence. And swagger. It might have been alcohol induced, but regardless, he had it until he saw Uncle Herman standing there. Before he saw Uncle Herman, the entire population of the nightclub was scared of the man at the door. Except one. When Herman stood up and spoke, the swagger changed. The man at the door lost his confidence and his swagger and did the only smart thing he could think of. He left. From other things I know of Uncle Herman, it was a wise decision. He was tall and lanky, but loaded cross ties by hand for a living.
Uncle Herman had a couple things going for him in that scenario. He had a reputation established. And he had the skills to back up that reputation,
Here's where the Cowboys come into this story. The Cowboys have twelve Pro Bowlers on the team. And other players that are rock solid. The talent and skills are there for the most part. The Cowboys dominated the NFC through 12 games this past season, losing only one of those, and that was to the Patriots. There was little doubt who THE team to beat in the NFC was. And December got here, and something happened to the Cowboys. I don't know if it was loss of concentration, loss of confidence, injuries, an ongoing curse, or what, but the general concensus is they sucked during December. They're like the guy standing at the door. Their swagger left. And the Giants proved to be the tall lanky one in this scenario. The one that said "No, I don't think you are the team to beat in the NFC."
Now, next season will get here, and the Cowboys will be the former NFC East Champions. And regardless of the outcome of the SuperBowl, the Giants will be the NFC Conference Champions. They are THE team to beat as the season begins. The Cowboys, because of the late season collapse will have to play their entire season and a couple playoff games before anyone takes them serious next season. Imagine having to go into the 13th game of the season still unable to have confidence in your own team, or have others have confidence in your team. Unfortunately, that's the scenario that the Cowboys have now created for themselves.
Now, champions stand up and speak loudly and with conviction. Not necessarily with words, but with actions. The only thing that will overcome the personna the Cowboys have created is for them to come into next season and dominate. Not like they did last year, but like the 1992 Cowboys did. Like the Bears did in the 80's. Like the Steelers did in their day. Like the Patriots do today. The Cowboys need to step on the field and strike fear into the other team. That isn't going to happen in the first few games. They don't have that reputation yet. As Yogi Berra said years ago, "this game is 50% physical and 90% mental." It's time for the Cowboys to stand up and say to the Giants and the rest of the world "No, we ARE the team to beat and today's not looking very good for you". And back it up with action. It's time for some earned swagger.
Rod
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Just for the record - Romo Last 5 games
In games played in December and January, Tony Romo is 3-7.
2006
Week 14 NOR 42 DAL 17
Week 15 DAL 38 ATL 28
Week 16 PHI 23 DAL 7
Week 17 DET 39 DAL 31
NFC Wild-Card Playoff DAL 20 SEA 21
2007
Week 14 DET 27 DAL 28
Week 15 PHI 6 DAL10
Week 16 CAR 13 DAL 20
Week 17 WAS 27 DAL 6
NFC Div.Playoff NYG 23 at DAL 17
His Passer Rating average for the 5 games after Dec 1, 2007 was 62.8.
A quick search of the internet failed to produce the passer rating numbers for 2006.
Rod
2006
Week 14 NOR 42 DAL 17
Week 15 DAL 38 ATL 28
Week 16 PHI 23 DAL 7
Week 17 DET 39 DAL 31
NFC Wild-Card Playoff DAL 20 SEA 21
2007
Week 14 DET 27 DAL 28
Week 15 PHI 6 DAL10
Week 16 CAR 13 DAL 20
Week 17 WAS 27 DAL 6
NFC Div.Playoff NYG 23 at DAL 17
His Passer Rating average for the 5 games after Dec 1, 2007 was 62.8.
A quick search of the internet failed to produce the passer rating numbers for 2006.
Rod
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
What would Jimmy Johnson do. . . .
In an article by Tim MacMahon:
(http://cowboys.beloblog.com/archives/2007/11/jimmy_blasts_burnett.html)
While ranting about bonehead penalties by Bradie James and Kevin Burnett, Studio JJ morphed into Coach Johnson, giving what amounted to a tongue-lashing aimed at Burnett in particular.
"Because you’re an idiot and you can’t keep your mouth shut, now it’s tied," Johnson bellowed, veins popping in his forehead. "And now they’ve got the momentum. They feel good. We have to play disciplined football if we’re going to win this game. We can’t go out there and lose our cool."
Moments later, Johnson wondered: "What would Bill Parcells think in that same situation?" Then, in an obvious reference to the difference between the Parcells Era-Cowboys and the Wade Phillips Era: "Relaxed-type atmosphere. You can’t have a relaxed-type atmosphere."
End of article quote
We've had relaxed before, sometimes with Campo, sometimes with Chan Gailey. The results were lack of discipline. On the other hand, the Parcells method didn't work either. The players responded to his method, but not in a positive way.
The results prove that Jimmy Johnson's method worked when he was coaching a team with talent. Tom Landry's method, while different than Johnson's, worked also when he had talent. Unless you had a bunch of slackers, you didn't see an undisciplined Landry team or Johnson team. And slackers didn't last long around here.
Since Johnson left, we've watched Larry Allen cash his checks and barely show up for most games in his last few years with the Cowboys. We watched Julius Jones run into the back of his teammates seemingly hundreds of times and just fall down. We've watched Flozell Adams make penalty after penalty after penalty, usually false start penalties, costing the Cowboys yards over and over, and usually when they needed those yards the most.
Discipline. That has to be the key. Parcells used fear and humiliation which, as I've already said, didn't work with the Cowboys. Johnson used intimidation, but also taught his players how to focus on the job at hand. We've watched 12 years of December Meltdowns where one player or another just didn't seem to be focused on winning the game. Sometimes it was entire units that weren't focused.
If Jimmy Johnson had been coach of last year's Cowboys, or this year's Cowboys, and any member of the team slacked off, he would have gotten benched. Or fired. Jimmy Johnson got his players' attention. A receiver dropped a sure touchdown pass during a playoff game under Jimmy Johnson. The next morning, that player no longer worked for the Dallas Cowboys organization.
Jimmy taught players that it was a serious business and that they were hired to do a job and that their focus had damned well better be on doing that job or they didn't work here anymore. For the record, the Cowboys went on to win the SuperBowl that season and you can bet your hiney there wasn't any more dropped passes in the endzone that season.
When you look at the tremendous effort required to get to the 13th game of the season with a 12-1 record, at all the struggles each player had to endure, at the studying and planning and manipulating schemes and plays, to make such a thing happen, a player should be publicly shamed when he doesn't put out his best effort for his teammates, for himself, and for the simple fact that he's getting paid to do it.
Anything less is disrespectful to your teammates.
Missed tackles? Dropped passes? Poor blocking? In a playoff game? I think Jimmy Johnson used the word "idiot". I concur. And I add the word "shameful" to it.
Rod
(http://cowboys.beloblog.com/archives/2007/11/jimmy_blasts_burnett.html)
While ranting about bonehead penalties by Bradie James and Kevin Burnett, Studio JJ morphed into Coach Johnson, giving what amounted to a tongue-lashing aimed at Burnett in particular.
"Because you’re an idiot and you can’t keep your mouth shut, now it’s tied," Johnson bellowed, veins popping in his forehead. "And now they’ve got the momentum. They feel good. We have to play disciplined football if we’re going to win this game. We can’t go out there and lose our cool."
Moments later, Johnson wondered: "What would Bill Parcells think in that same situation?" Then, in an obvious reference to the difference between the Parcells Era-Cowboys and the Wade Phillips Era: "Relaxed-type atmosphere. You can’t have a relaxed-type atmosphere."
End of article quote
We've had relaxed before, sometimes with Campo, sometimes with Chan Gailey. The results were lack of discipline. On the other hand, the Parcells method didn't work either. The players responded to his method, but not in a positive way.
The results prove that Jimmy Johnson's method worked when he was coaching a team with talent. Tom Landry's method, while different than Johnson's, worked also when he had talent. Unless you had a bunch of slackers, you didn't see an undisciplined Landry team or Johnson team. And slackers didn't last long around here.
Since Johnson left, we've watched Larry Allen cash his checks and barely show up for most games in his last few years with the Cowboys. We watched Julius Jones run into the back of his teammates seemingly hundreds of times and just fall down. We've watched Flozell Adams make penalty after penalty after penalty, usually false start penalties, costing the Cowboys yards over and over, and usually when they needed those yards the most.
Discipline. That has to be the key. Parcells used fear and humiliation which, as I've already said, didn't work with the Cowboys. Johnson used intimidation, but also taught his players how to focus on the job at hand. We've watched 12 years of December Meltdowns where one player or another just didn't seem to be focused on winning the game. Sometimes it was entire units that weren't focused.
If Jimmy Johnson had been coach of last year's Cowboys, or this year's Cowboys, and any member of the team slacked off, he would have gotten benched. Or fired. Jimmy Johnson got his players' attention. A receiver dropped a sure touchdown pass during a playoff game under Jimmy Johnson. The next morning, that player no longer worked for the Dallas Cowboys organization.
Jimmy taught players that it was a serious business and that they were hired to do a job and that their focus had damned well better be on doing that job or they didn't work here anymore. For the record, the Cowboys went on to win the SuperBowl that season and you can bet your hiney there wasn't any more dropped passes in the endzone that season.
When you look at the tremendous effort required to get to the 13th game of the season with a 12-1 record, at all the struggles each player had to endure, at the studying and planning and manipulating schemes and plays, to make such a thing happen, a player should be publicly shamed when he doesn't put out his best effort for his teammates, for himself, and for the simple fact that he's getting paid to do it.
Anything less is disrespectful to your teammates.
Missed tackles? Dropped passes? Poor blocking? In a playoff game? I think Jimmy Johnson used the word "idiot". I concur. And I add the word "shameful" to it.
Rod
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Reality Check - 2008
1977:Long hair
2007:Longing for hair
1977:KEG
2007:EKG
1977:Acid rock
2007:Acid reflux
1977:Moving to California because it's cool
2007:Moving to Arizona because it's warm
1977:Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
2007:Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
1977:Seeds and stems
2007:Roughage
1977:Hoping for a BMW
2007:Hoping for a BM
1977:Going to a new, hip joint
2007:Receiving a new hip joint
1977:Rolling Stones
2007:Kidney Stones
1977:Screw the system
2007:Upgrade the system
1977:Disco
2007:Costco
1977:Parents begging you to get your hair cut
2007:Children begging you to get their heads shaved
1977:Passing the drivers' test
2007:Passing the vision test
1977:Whatever
2007:Depends
Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things. Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the faculty a sense of the mindset of this year's incoming freshmen. Here's this year's list:
The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1989.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.
The CD was introduced the year they were born.
They have always had an answering! machine
They have always had cable.
They cannot fathom not having a remote control.
Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
They never heard: "Where's the Beef?", "I'd walk
a mile for a Camel", or "de plane, Boss, de plane."
McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.
They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.
These people who are starting college this fall were
six years old the last time the Cowboys won a
playoff game.
Rod
2007:Longing for hair
1977:KEG
2007:EKG
1977:Acid rock
2007:Acid reflux
1977:Moving to California because it's cool
2007:Moving to Arizona because it's warm
1977:Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
2007:Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
1977:Seeds and stems
2007:Roughage
1977:Hoping for a BMW
2007:Hoping for a BM
1977:Going to a new, hip joint
2007:Receiving a new hip joint
1977:Rolling Stones
2007:Kidney Stones
1977:Screw the system
2007:Upgrade the system
1977:Disco
2007:Costco
1977:Parents begging you to get your hair cut
2007:Children begging you to get their heads shaved
1977:Passing the drivers' test
2007:Passing the vision test
1977:Whatever
2007:Depends
Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things. Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the faculty a sense of the mindset of this year's incoming freshmen. Here's this year's list:
The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1989.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.
The CD was introduced the year they were born.
They have always had an answering! machine
They have always had cable.
They cannot fathom not having a remote control.
Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
They never heard: "Where's the Beef?", "I'd walk
a mile for a Camel", or "de plane, Boss, de plane."
McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.
They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.
These people who are starting college this fall were
six years old the last time the Cowboys won a
playoff game.
Rod
A letter to Dallas Cowboys, Inc.
Dear Mr. Jones,
I've been a user of your company's product since 1972. That's 35 years. For many years before you acquired the company, I was happy with the product. Although some competing companies' products managed to come out ahead in the market place many times, I was brand loyal for many years, even though the quality of the product began to drop considerably in the 1980's.
When you acquired the company, I was concerned with the direction the company might take, but within very few years, you had my complete confidence as the company soared to the top of the market place, winning awards and acclaim well into the 1990's. Then the quality of your product began to deteriorate again. It continues to be in decline. During this entire time, I have remained loyal to your company's brand, although I must admit to much disatisfaction for over a decade now.
No longer does your company win awards and the envy of your peers. Other companies have dominated your market place for years. This past year, your company appeared to be on a path to reclaim your value in the market place. With the acquisition of new personnel handling various facets of the company, your company began an upward climb appearing to be reclaiming the status of "elite" in your market.
Then the Christmas sales season began and your company's product quality began a nosedive, yet again. For twelve years your company's product quality has deteriorated beginning in December to the point your consumers lose their confidence in your product. As of the national showing of your product this past weekend, I would contend that confidence in your product is now at an all-time low.
Because of the nature of your company, the market place cannot manage a corporate takeover and remove management which apparently is incapable of righting the ship of this once fine organization. This leaves us, the consumers of your product, three choices.
1. To continue using the poor quality product your firm produces and just live with our own disatisfaction,
2. To switch to another company's product, or
3. To rise up, united, and demand, with our pocketbooks, that you, as head of this corporation, fix the problem or lose our business.
A concerted effort by us, your consumers, to not purchase your product, not use your product, not display your product until such time as we see you actually beginning to meet your customers' needs is not inconceivable. Many of us have the stamina to continue to love your product, in spite of the poor quality, but there are enough consumers out there who will choose option 2.
The group I'm speaking for is group 3. The only method we have to get your attention is to stop buying and using your products. We, as a group, are many times ashamed to admit that we are users of your product, and frankly, we're tired of feeling that way.
Perhaps if a thousand of us would decide to not buy tickets to see your product displayed, not to buy jerseys, cups, mugs, teeshirts, caps, posters, etc, we would get your attention. If each of us normally spent $100 per year, that's $100,000.
I contend we can show that much unification. If ten thousand were to decide to stop the usage of your product until we see positive results, not promises, of product quality improvement, that would be $1,000,000.
If a hundred thousand of us were to decide to throw our hands up in fisted rage and speak as one voice that enough was enough, that would be $10,000,000.
Heaven help us if we could dream to get a million of your consumers to decide that we're sick of an inferior product, we're starting to talk about some serious money here.
As an individual, my voice is weak and barely audible. But, Mr. Jones, there are a lot of users of your product that are just sick of this. Listen to us. One becomes two. and two become four, and four become eight, and the next thing you know, there's an army of dissatisfied consumers of your product out there and they're not spending any more money with your company until they see a fundamental change in quality control.
Can you imagine your first public display of your product in your new billion dollar showroom, and only a few people in attendance? Unlikely, yes. Completely impossible, no.
We, as users of your company's product want you to hear us. It's time to show us that you deserve the hard earned money we bestow upon your company each year. That your company deserves the loyalty we, as your consumers, give.
Mr. Jones, fix it. Within your company, you have the power. Outside your company, our dollars have the power.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Rod
I've been a user of your company's product since 1972. That's 35 years. For many years before you acquired the company, I was happy with the product. Although some competing companies' products managed to come out ahead in the market place many times, I was brand loyal for many years, even though the quality of the product began to drop considerably in the 1980's.
When you acquired the company, I was concerned with the direction the company might take, but within very few years, you had my complete confidence as the company soared to the top of the market place, winning awards and acclaim well into the 1990's. Then the quality of your product began to deteriorate again. It continues to be in decline. During this entire time, I have remained loyal to your company's brand, although I must admit to much disatisfaction for over a decade now.
No longer does your company win awards and the envy of your peers. Other companies have dominated your market place for years. This past year, your company appeared to be on a path to reclaim your value in the market place. With the acquisition of new personnel handling various facets of the company, your company began an upward climb appearing to be reclaiming the status of "elite" in your market.
Then the Christmas sales season began and your company's product quality began a nosedive, yet again. For twelve years your company's product quality has deteriorated beginning in December to the point your consumers lose their confidence in your product. As of the national showing of your product this past weekend, I would contend that confidence in your product is now at an all-time low.
Because of the nature of your company, the market place cannot manage a corporate takeover and remove management which apparently is incapable of righting the ship of this once fine organization. This leaves us, the consumers of your product, three choices.
1. To continue using the poor quality product your firm produces and just live with our own disatisfaction,
2. To switch to another company's product, or
3. To rise up, united, and demand, with our pocketbooks, that you, as head of this corporation, fix the problem or lose our business.
A concerted effort by us, your consumers, to not purchase your product, not use your product, not display your product until such time as we see you actually beginning to meet your customers' needs is not inconceivable. Many of us have the stamina to continue to love your product, in spite of the poor quality, but there are enough consumers out there who will choose option 2.
The group I'm speaking for is group 3. The only method we have to get your attention is to stop buying and using your products. We, as a group, are many times ashamed to admit that we are users of your product, and frankly, we're tired of feeling that way.
Perhaps if a thousand of us would decide to not buy tickets to see your product displayed, not to buy jerseys, cups, mugs, teeshirts, caps, posters, etc, we would get your attention. If each of us normally spent $100 per year, that's $100,000.
I contend we can show that much unification. If ten thousand were to decide to stop the usage of your product until we see positive results, not promises, of product quality improvement, that would be $1,000,000.
If a hundred thousand of us were to decide to throw our hands up in fisted rage and speak as one voice that enough was enough, that would be $10,000,000.
Heaven help us if we could dream to get a million of your consumers to decide that we're sick of an inferior product, we're starting to talk about some serious money here.
As an individual, my voice is weak and barely audible. But, Mr. Jones, there are a lot of users of your product that are just sick of this. Listen to us. One becomes two. and two become four, and four become eight, and the next thing you know, there's an army of dissatisfied consumers of your product out there and they're not spending any more money with your company until they see a fundamental change in quality control.
Can you imagine your first public display of your product in your new billion dollar showroom, and only a few people in attendance? Unlikely, yes. Completely impossible, no.
We, as users of your company's product want you to hear us. It's time to show us that you deserve the hard earned money we bestow upon your company each year. That your company deserves the loyalty we, as your consumers, give.
Mr. Jones, fix it. Within your company, you have the power. Outside your company, our dollars have the power.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Rod
Monday, January 14, 2008
Last night on the Ticket. . .
Last night on the Ticket, there was a caller that brought up something that I have been pondering over today. The caller asked whether it was possible that Tony Romo might be another Danny White. Meaning that Romo might get you into the playoffs, might even win a game or two, but won't get you to the Super Bowl.
1980 NFL NFC Championship 12 - 4
1981 NFL NFC Championship 12 - 4
1982 NFL NFC Championship 6 - 3
1983 NFL NFC Wild-Card Playoff 12 - 4
1984 NFL 9 - 7
1985 NFL NFC Divisional Playoff 10 - 6
1985 NFL NFC Divisional Playoff 10 - 6
1986 NFL 7 - 9
1987 NFL 7 - 8
This is a snapshot of a portion of Danny White's career. Some of these years, mainly the poorer record years, Danny did not take all the snaps as QB. For the years he did take all or most of the snaps, the Cowboys had a winning record and went at least to a divisional playoff game, with three appearances in the NFC Championship game. But, of course, what's missing is that Super Bowl appearance. Whether it was Danny's fault or not, he must carry the rep of being the QB that just couldn't get you there.
Personally, I have always been a huge fan of Danny White. Until this season, he had held the single season passing yardage record for the Cowboys organization. Romo surpassed that record this season. Danny was a good quarterback and excellent leader. But he didn't win the big one.
Now, I haven't checked planetary arrangements or horoscopes or birthweights or anything like that to prove up some theory that Romo is just the next Danny White.
It's a different game now than it was in Danny's day. Faster, bigger players are involved. Rules are different. Even the playoff scenario is different now. Equipment is better now, affording better protection to the players. And, of course, there's free agency. All of these things could affect what Danny would do these days, so it is impossible to know how Danny would play under today's circumstances.
We do know a little more now about how Tony Romo plays. A full season this year and roughly half of last regular season has show us that he can be competitive. It has also shown us that for some reason or another, his performance appears to degrade as the season goes on.
We've watched him in two playoff games. Both have been losses. Both have ended with a last ditch effort involving Tony Romo as one of the ball handlers on the last play. You have to give Romo credit for having the Cowboys in position to potentially win the game, no doubt. But you have to wonder if he's getting rattled from the pressure of such a game. Slick ball last year was the excuse/reason. Receiver cut too early this season seems to be the concensus of opinions as to this year's failure to score.
But the bottom line is that no Tony Romo led Cowboys team has won a playoff game yet. The Cowboys probably wouldn't have been in those playoff games without Tony Romo. But both games were losses.
Now, as to the caller's question about Romo being the next Danny White. No, I don't think he is. I think he's the next Tony Romo. And I don't think we all quite know what that is yet. I still contend that it's much too early to start casting his hall of fame bust. Probably more people believe that this season, after yesterday's loss. Tony needs to show us he lead this team to a playoff victory. Then he can worry about the NFC Championship and finally the Super Bowl. But right now, all we know is he can get the team into the playoffs. He hasn't even shown us he can get the team into playoffs with some momentum going their way yet.
At this point, though, I would say that Tony Romo needs to provide us with more stats before we could call him the 2nd Coming of Danny White. But it's an interesting concept, regardless.
Rod
1980 NFL NFC Championship 12 - 4
1981 NFL NFC Championship 12 - 4
1982 NFL NFC Championship 6 - 3
1983 NFL NFC Wild-Card Playoff 12 - 4
1984 NFL 9 - 7
1985 NFL NFC Divisional Playoff 10 - 6
1985 NFL NFC Divisional Playoff 10 - 6
1986 NFL 7 - 9
1987 NFL 7 - 8
This is a snapshot of a portion of Danny White's career. Some of these years, mainly the poorer record years, Danny did not take all the snaps as QB. For the years he did take all or most of the snaps, the Cowboys had a winning record and went at least to a divisional playoff game, with three appearances in the NFC Championship game. But, of course, what's missing is that Super Bowl appearance. Whether it was Danny's fault or not, he must carry the rep of being the QB that just couldn't get you there.
Personally, I have always been a huge fan of Danny White. Until this season, he had held the single season passing yardage record for the Cowboys organization. Romo surpassed that record this season. Danny was a good quarterback and excellent leader. But he didn't win the big one.
Now, I haven't checked planetary arrangements or horoscopes or birthweights or anything like that to prove up some theory that Romo is just the next Danny White.
It's a different game now than it was in Danny's day. Faster, bigger players are involved. Rules are different. Even the playoff scenario is different now. Equipment is better now, affording better protection to the players. And, of course, there's free agency. All of these things could affect what Danny would do these days, so it is impossible to know how Danny would play under today's circumstances.
We do know a little more now about how Tony Romo plays. A full season this year and roughly half of last regular season has show us that he can be competitive. It has also shown us that for some reason or another, his performance appears to degrade as the season goes on.
We've watched him in two playoff games. Both have been losses. Both have ended with a last ditch effort involving Tony Romo as one of the ball handlers on the last play. You have to give Romo credit for having the Cowboys in position to potentially win the game, no doubt. But you have to wonder if he's getting rattled from the pressure of such a game. Slick ball last year was the excuse/reason. Receiver cut too early this season seems to be the concensus of opinions as to this year's failure to score.
But the bottom line is that no Tony Romo led Cowboys team has won a playoff game yet. The Cowboys probably wouldn't have been in those playoff games without Tony Romo. But both games were losses.
Now, as to the caller's question about Romo being the next Danny White. No, I don't think he is. I think he's the next Tony Romo. And I don't think we all quite know what that is yet. I still contend that it's much too early to start casting his hall of fame bust. Probably more people believe that this season, after yesterday's loss. Tony needs to show us he lead this team to a playoff victory. Then he can worry about the NFC Championship and finally the Super Bowl. But right now, all we know is he can get the team into the playoffs. He hasn't even shown us he can get the team into playoffs with some momentum going their way yet.
At this point, though, I would say that Tony Romo needs to provide us with more stats before we could call him the 2nd Coming of Danny White. But it's an interesting concept, regardless.
Rod
If's and December and Lunacy. . .
It's 5:38 on the Monday morning after the Cowboys lost the NFC Divisional game. Their 13-3 regular season record now looks meaningless. Had they not done so well during the regular season, they'd be drafting higher, so in some ways it actually hurt the team.
For the first 12 games, I watched and cheered and remained hopeful that this was the real deal. But one thing was sure. There was no way I was going to start talking smack about the Cowboys until I saw what they did in December. When they went into December beginning to lose games and being less productive, all those uneasy feelings started flooding in. I voiced my opinion and was called a hater, not a fan, etc. Well I'm a big ole boy. I can take the name calling. What I can't take is another season of this crap. You can talk until you're blue in the face and you're not going to convince me of how well the Cowboys played in December. You're not going to convince me that this team had a snowball's chance in hell (yes, i said it again) of going anywhere in the playoffs with their twelfth December Meltdown in a row freshly behind them.
Here are the numbers for the last 5 games of each season going back to '95.
2007 3-2 Playoff game (1 loss)
2006 2-3 Playoff game (1 loss)
2005 2-3
2004 2-3
2003 2-3 Playoff game (1 loss)
2002 1-4
2001 2-3
2000 1-4
1999 2-3 Playoff game (1 loss)
1998 2-3 Playoff game (1 loss)
1997 0-5
1996 2-3 Playoff games (1 win, 1 loss)
1995 3-2 SuperBowl win
We're talking back to the Barry Switzer regime (what's that? 5 coaches ago???) before the Cowboys accomplished something of meaning. The one playoff win in '96 looks good on paper. A 40--15 tromping of the Vikings. But then Carolina shut down that mighty offense and sent the Cowboys home the following weekend with a 26-17 loss. How many of us back then would have believed that 12 years later, we would still be waiting for our next NFC Divisional win? For that matter, any playoff win!
Look at that list above again. That's 12 years since a playoff win. For the first time in 12 years, the Cowboys won more of that last 5 regular season games than they lost. But look back at this season's play in December. They were not the juggernaut that everyone feared. They barely beat Detroit. Philadelphia slapped them around. They played fairly well against Carolina and won by one touchdown. Then the Redskins manhandled them. Yes, they won more games than they lost in the final 5 of this past season, but they weren't building momentum, they were losing it.
Oh sure, there will be those that will say the Redskins game was meaningless. It's not so meaningless that they've removed it from the team statistics. It's not so meaningless that we can't look and easily see similarities in how the team played in that game and yesterday's game.
This December Meltdown thing is the most bizarre phenomena I've ever seen anywhere. With coaching changes every few years, quarterback changes, running back changes, wide receiver changes, linebacker changes, cornerback changes, kicker/punter changes, over a 12 year period virtually a completely new team with the exception of Jerry and Stephen Jones, and it's the same results, year after year after year.
They've tried going easy in training camp so they're not so tired towards the end of the season. That didn't work. They tried the 100+ degree temperature days in San Antonio for training camp to toughen the guys up. That didn't work. We won't talk about the coaching and quarterback carousel that's been going on in Dallas for 12 years. Those didn't work either.
As the season progressed this year and the Cowboys started stacking up wins, I got enthusiastic. They were looking like champions again. The "Cowboys rule" and "Fear the Cowboys" proclamations were rampant amongst fans of various message boards. "Romo rules" was readily available.
Well, neither the Cowboys, nor Romo, rule today.
While much can be said for individual and team records this year, how many Cowboys fans can say they're happy with the outcome right now. Damned few, I'd imagine. Put me down in the Not Satisfied column, just for the record.
Now, this season is history. It will be well recorded history. Next year, when everyone is trying to prove to you that we didn't have that bad of a December and they point to the last Washington game as being meaningless, the stats will still show that game as a Loss. When everyone starts with the "if Crayton had made his cut quicker on that last play, the Cowboys would have won the Divisional Playoff game", the stats will still show that game as a Loss.
It's over for this year. Finished, kaput, in the bag, whatever. Finality is a bitch sometimes.
It's a bitch today.
Now, it starts anew.
There are contracts that have to be dealt with, free agents to be hired, draft picks to be had, etc. Perhaps some coaching changes. Here are my suggestions, for what they're worth.
Draft a running back with one of the #1 picks. Stop playing around with these late rounders and let's get some talent at this position finally. This means Julius Jones goes. There are not enough roster positions on this team to justify keeping him. He simply isn't productive enough to be playing running back for the Dallas Cowboys. Barber's performance yesterday was incredible. He proved again that he's a great running back. For half a game. Unfortunately, he proved that he's not an every-down back. Maybe it was conditioning, who knows. Barber should stay and be used as that 2nd half back that's fresh when defenses are getting tired. It worked last year and this year. We have reason to believe it will work again. We do not have reason to believe Julius Jones will be anything other than what he's been in the past.
Re-sign Terrell Owens. I can't believe I'm actually saying that, but the guy is a playmaker. And he's becoming a true leader.
Jacque Reeves and Roy Williams need to go. Take the hit on Roy Williams salary and trade him, give him away, pay someone to take him or whatever. He's costing the Cowboys wayyyyyyy more money playing than he will gone. Reeves simply isn't talented enough to trust on the field other than situational plays, and damned few of those.
Crayton isn't good enough to be running his mouth. While we all know it was poor play from many different players yesterday that cost the Cowboys their shot at the SuperBowl, Crayton's mistakes were just so visible that he'll get plenty of blame from many sources. Someone shut him up, please. He's an embarassment.
Romo needs to go back to Mexico. And tell Jessica Simpson what a lucky man he is. Lucky that he got his contract signed while the Cowboys were in their winning streak. Had Jerry Jones waited until today to start negotiations, he could have saved himself a lot of money. Romo didn't play like a $60+ million dollar quarterback in his past 5 games. It looked to me like the fire that defined Romo was just gone towards the end of the season.
Jason Garrett's chances at a head coaching job have probably diminished considerably in the last month. That coaching genius wasn't able to come up with an answer to the December Meltdown. Knowing that the defense just wasn't getting the job done, the offensive coordinator needed to step the offense up so they could go into the playoffs on a roll. Well, it was a downhill roll unfortunately. And history repeated itself. Another meltdown and another one and done in the playoffs.
Coach Phillips is and should remain the head coach. There is no doubt that his coaching methods worked better than his predecessors going back to '97, anyway. His much-mentioned defense didn't appear to get the job done most of the year. Perhaps it's personnel and that can be rectified. The offense carried the team through most of the season. A good defense would have made the difference in yesterday's game.
Now, I do believe there should be a change in Coach Phillips' contract. There should be an addendum to the existing one that says for each time he says to anyone "I just didn't have the team ready for the game", he should be fined $50,000. I don't know about you, but that statement was wearing awfully thin towards late December. If he was going through that many games without getting them ready for the game, why is he the head coach? Was he simply not doing his job, or what?
I know he was just wanting to accept blame in lieu of the team, but at a point, humility becomes arrogance. Fine his ass $50,000 and maybe he'll have them ready for the next one or at least stop with the false humility thing.
While I'm on the subject, let me say this. I think Parcells had some really good methods. I also think he had some really lousy ones. Making players accountable is an excellent practice. Belittling them is not.
I like the laid back attitude of Phillips most of the time. But when Roy Williams screws the pooch over and over and over, it's time to climb into someone's ass and the head coach is the one that needs to do it. Anyone not producing should be subject to being benched. That includes coaches, players, waterboys, whomever.
Draft another good wide receiver. Or grab a good free agent. TO and Glenn aren't getting any younger. Crayton is making me older faster than I want to go there. Austin and Hurd are works in progress.
Make it a part of contracts, coaches and players, that for games after Thanksgiving, they get extra incentives when the team wins.
Make it a part of contracts that penalties during games mean penalties in their paychecks. Make it a sliding scale penalty. The more stupid the penalty, the higher the chunk taken from their paycheck becomes. Have Columbo and Flozell initial their new contracts twice at that point.
Missed tackles should be dealt with the same way. Miss a tackle, lose $5,000. All of this will help the salary cap, of course.
Dropped passes should cost the wide receivers in their paycheck, too. Let each dropped pass cost them $5000 or so and at some point, you'll get someone's attention. Make it a $10,000 penalty for each one dropped after Thanksgiving in a season. It's a simple logic, really. They're hired to catch balls. They should be paid for catching them. When they drop one, they should pay the Cowboys to waste a roster spot on someone who drops balls.
OK, some of this is lunacy, of course. Can you tell I'm frustrated? I just want someone to do something constructive that is pointed directly at putting an end to this December Meltdown phenomena. Something. Someone! Please!!!
This year's Cowboys team had a shot at the brass ring. It's doubtful they could have gotten past the Patriots who appear unbeatable, but they had a shot at trying, anyway. And they quite simply pissed it away. Yesterday, there were dropped passes, poor special teams play, poor blocking by the offensive line, poor quarterback decisions, poor route running by receivers, poor coverage by cornerbacks and safeties, and stupid penalties. About the only player on the team who didn't look stupid at some point in time was the punter.
Quite simply, the Cowboys lost because they didn't deserve to win. Not with the way they played, as individuals or as a team. They just didn't do their job.
It's over for this year. Who knows when the next opportunity will come. Will it be twelve more years? Can we, as fans, hang in there that long?
Now we can look ahead to next season. Just remember, as you're getting all hyped up in September, October and November, that December is coming. And December is what decides on what kind of team the Cowboys truly are. As we've seen this year, their 11-1 record going into December didn't get them any further in the playoffs than they've gotten in the prior 11 seasons. You have to watch 16 games before you know what kind of team the Cowboys put on the field.
December rules the Cowboys. For the Cowboys to rule anything, they first have to rule December. This year, they didn't. It's over. . . . finished.
Finality is a bitch.
Rod
PS: If you're going to respond to this, try doing it without using the "if" word. Because "if" all the other teams had just forfeited their games, the Cowboys would have had a perfect season. You can "if" all day long and get nowhere. For every "if" you can come up with, I can come up with a better one. Deal with reality. It bites today, but it's what will be remembered.
For the first 12 games, I watched and cheered and remained hopeful that this was the real deal. But one thing was sure. There was no way I was going to start talking smack about the Cowboys until I saw what they did in December. When they went into December beginning to lose games and being less productive, all those uneasy feelings started flooding in. I voiced my opinion and was called a hater, not a fan, etc. Well I'm a big ole boy. I can take the name calling. What I can't take is another season of this crap. You can talk until you're blue in the face and you're not going to convince me of how well the Cowboys played in December. You're not going to convince me that this team had a snowball's chance in hell (yes, i said it again) of going anywhere in the playoffs with their twelfth December Meltdown in a row freshly behind them.
Here are the numbers for the last 5 games of each season going back to '95.
2007 3-2 Playoff game (1 loss)
2006 2-3 Playoff game (1 loss)
2005 2-3
2004 2-3
2003 2-3 Playoff game (1 loss)
2002 1-4
2001 2-3
2000 1-4
1999 2-3 Playoff game (1 loss)
1998 2-3 Playoff game (1 loss)
1997 0-5
1996 2-3 Playoff games (1 win, 1 loss)
1995 3-2 SuperBowl win
We're talking back to the Barry Switzer regime (what's that? 5 coaches ago???) before the Cowboys accomplished something of meaning. The one playoff win in '96 looks good on paper. A 40--15 tromping of the Vikings. But then Carolina shut down that mighty offense and sent the Cowboys home the following weekend with a 26-17 loss. How many of us back then would have believed that 12 years later, we would still be waiting for our next NFC Divisional win? For that matter, any playoff win!
Look at that list above again. That's 12 years since a playoff win. For the first time in 12 years, the Cowboys won more of that last 5 regular season games than they lost. But look back at this season's play in December. They were not the juggernaut that everyone feared. They barely beat Detroit. Philadelphia slapped them around. They played fairly well against Carolina and won by one touchdown. Then the Redskins manhandled them. Yes, they won more games than they lost in the final 5 of this past season, but they weren't building momentum, they were losing it.
Oh sure, there will be those that will say the Redskins game was meaningless. It's not so meaningless that they've removed it from the team statistics. It's not so meaningless that we can't look and easily see similarities in how the team played in that game and yesterday's game.
This December Meltdown thing is the most bizarre phenomena I've ever seen anywhere. With coaching changes every few years, quarterback changes, running back changes, wide receiver changes, linebacker changes, cornerback changes, kicker/punter changes, over a 12 year period virtually a completely new team with the exception of Jerry and Stephen Jones, and it's the same results, year after year after year.
They've tried going easy in training camp so they're not so tired towards the end of the season. That didn't work. They tried the 100+ degree temperature days in San Antonio for training camp to toughen the guys up. That didn't work. We won't talk about the coaching and quarterback carousel that's been going on in Dallas for 12 years. Those didn't work either.
As the season progressed this year and the Cowboys started stacking up wins, I got enthusiastic. They were looking like champions again. The "Cowboys rule" and "Fear the Cowboys" proclamations were rampant amongst fans of various message boards. "Romo rules" was readily available.
Well, neither the Cowboys, nor Romo, rule today.
While much can be said for individual and team records this year, how many Cowboys fans can say they're happy with the outcome right now. Damned few, I'd imagine. Put me down in the Not Satisfied column, just for the record.
Now, this season is history. It will be well recorded history. Next year, when everyone is trying to prove to you that we didn't have that bad of a December and they point to the last Washington game as being meaningless, the stats will still show that game as a Loss. When everyone starts with the "if Crayton had made his cut quicker on that last play, the Cowboys would have won the Divisional Playoff game", the stats will still show that game as a Loss.
It's over for this year. Finished, kaput, in the bag, whatever. Finality is a bitch sometimes.
It's a bitch today.
Now, it starts anew.
There are contracts that have to be dealt with, free agents to be hired, draft picks to be had, etc. Perhaps some coaching changes. Here are my suggestions, for what they're worth.
Draft a running back with one of the #1 picks. Stop playing around with these late rounders and let's get some talent at this position finally. This means Julius Jones goes. There are not enough roster positions on this team to justify keeping him. He simply isn't productive enough to be playing running back for the Dallas Cowboys. Barber's performance yesterday was incredible. He proved again that he's a great running back. For half a game. Unfortunately, he proved that he's not an every-down back. Maybe it was conditioning, who knows. Barber should stay and be used as that 2nd half back that's fresh when defenses are getting tired. It worked last year and this year. We have reason to believe it will work again. We do not have reason to believe Julius Jones will be anything other than what he's been in the past.
Re-sign Terrell Owens. I can't believe I'm actually saying that, but the guy is a playmaker. And he's becoming a true leader.
Jacque Reeves and Roy Williams need to go. Take the hit on Roy Williams salary and trade him, give him away, pay someone to take him or whatever. He's costing the Cowboys wayyyyyyy more money playing than he will gone. Reeves simply isn't talented enough to trust on the field other than situational plays, and damned few of those.
Crayton isn't good enough to be running his mouth. While we all know it was poor play from many different players yesterday that cost the Cowboys their shot at the SuperBowl, Crayton's mistakes were just so visible that he'll get plenty of blame from many sources. Someone shut him up, please. He's an embarassment.
Romo needs to go back to Mexico. And tell Jessica Simpson what a lucky man he is. Lucky that he got his contract signed while the Cowboys were in their winning streak. Had Jerry Jones waited until today to start negotiations, he could have saved himself a lot of money. Romo didn't play like a $60+ million dollar quarterback in his past 5 games. It looked to me like the fire that defined Romo was just gone towards the end of the season.
Jason Garrett's chances at a head coaching job have probably diminished considerably in the last month. That coaching genius wasn't able to come up with an answer to the December Meltdown. Knowing that the defense just wasn't getting the job done, the offensive coordinator needed to step the offense up so they could go into the playoffs on a roll. Well, it was a downhill roll unfortunately. And history repeated itself. Another meltdown and another one and done in the playoffs.
Coach Phillips is and should remain the head coach. There is no doubt that his coaching methods worked better than his predecessors going back to '97, anyway. His much-mentioned defense didn't appear to get the job done most of the year. Perhaps it's personnel and that can be rectified. The offense carried the team through most of the season. A good defense would have made the difference in yesterday's game.
Now, I do believe there should be a change in Coach Phillips' contract. There should be an addendum to the existing one that says for each time he says to anyone "I just didn't have the team ready for the game", he should be fined $50,000. I don't know about you, but that statement was wearing awfully thin towards late December. If he was going through that many games without getting them ready for the game, why is he the head coach? Was he simply not doing his job, or what?
I know he was just wanting to accept blame in lieu of the team, but at a point, humility becomes arrogance. Fine his ass $50,000 and maybe he'll have them ready for the next one or at least stop with the false humility thing.
While I'm on the subject, let me say this. I think Parcells had some really good methods. I also think he had some really lousy ones. Making players accountable is an excellent practice. Belittling them is not.
I like the laid back attitude of Phillips most of the time. But when Roy Williams screws the pooch over and over and over, it's time to climb into someone's ass and the head coach is the one that needs to do it. Anyone not producing should be subject to being benched. That includes coaches, players, waterboys, whomever.
Draft another good wide receiver. Or grab a good free agent. TO and Glenn aren't getting any younger. Crayton is making me older faster than I want to go there. Austin and Hurd are works in progress.
Make it a part of contracts, coaches and players, that for games after Thanksgiving, they get extra incentives when the team wins.
Make it a part of contracts that penalties during games mean penalties in their paychecks. Make it a sliding scale penalty. The more stupid the penalty, the higher the chunk taken from their paycheck becomes. Have Columbo and Flozell initial their new contracts twice at that point.
Missed tackles should be dealt with the same way. Miss a tackle, lose $5,000. All of this will help the salary cap, of course.
Dropped passes should cost the wide receivers in their paycheck, too. Let each dropped pass cost them $5000 or so and at some point, you'll get someone's attention. Make it a $10,000 penalty for each one dropped after Thanksgiving in a season. It's a simple logic, really. They're hired to catch balls. They should be paid for catching them. When they drop one, they should pay the Cowboys to waste a roster spot on someone who drops balls.
OK, some of this is lunacy, of course. Can you tell I'm frustrated? I just want someone to do something constructive that is pointed directly at putting an end to this December Meltdown phenomena. Something. Someone! Please!!!
This year's Cowboys team had a shot at the brass ring. It's doubtful they could have gotten past the Patriots who appear unbeatable, but they had a shot at trying, anyway. And they quite simply pissed it away. Yesterday, there were dropped passes, poor special teams play, poor blocking by the offensive line, poor quarterback decisions, poor route running by receivers, poor coverage by cornerbacks and safeties, and stupid penalties. About the only player on the team who didn't look stupid at some point in time was the punter.
Quite simply, the Cowboys lost because they didn't deserve to win. Not with the way they played, as individuals or as a team. They just didn't do their job.
It's over for this year. Who knows when the next opportunity will come. Will it be twelve more years? Can we, as fans, hang in there that long?
Now we can look ahead to next season. Just remember, as you're getting all hyped up in September, October and November, that December is coming. And December is what decides on what kind of team the Cowboys truly are. As we've seen this year, their 11-1 record going into December didn't get them any further in the playoffs than they've gotten in the prior 11 seasons. You have to watch 16 games before you know what kind of team the Cowboys put on the field.
December rules the Cowboys. For the Cowboys to rule anything, they first have to rule December. This year, they didn't. It's over. . . . finished.
Finality is a bitch.
Rod
PS: If you're going to respond to this, try doing it without using the "if" word. Because "if" all the other teams had just forfeited their games, the Cowboys would have had a perfect season. You can "if" all day long and get nowhere. For every "if" you can come up with, I can come up with a better one. Deal with reality. It bites today, but it's what will be remembered.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Sleeping Bear Awakens
I won't go into the myriad of things that have kept me from blogging this year, but I will state emphatically that I have kept up with the Dallas Cowboys as I always do in spite of those things. While there have been minor occurrences that have caught my attention, none of them have been big enough to turn my attention away from where it was focused previously.
But it's time you hear from me now.
I've stated in the past that I'm out of the prediction business, so you're not going to hear me declare how this season is going to end for the Cowboys.
But you are going to hear my opinion on a few issues.
First of all, what has happened to Tony Romo? This is his first full season and he played like a maniac the first half of the season. The last half, and particularly in December, his numbers just dropped from week to week for the most part. If you look only at his December stats, you see a very average, if that high, quarterback. You certainly don't see the saviour of the Dallas Cowboys. With the numbers Romo put up early last year, the fever began. Then his production fell off, or other teams figured out how to defend against him or something happened that shut him down for the last 5 games of the season. This year, he looked great for the first half of the season. Then adequate for the next few games. Then the clock tolled at 12:00 AM December 1st, and the world changed. He became Bad Tony. And the Cowboys became Bad Cowboys. In case you've forgotten, Romo is 0-1 in the playoffs.
Second of all, what has happened to the offensive line? One yard of rushing in a whole game? I don't care if you were starting the waterboys and playing them the whole game, even they should have gained more than one measly yard. This is shameful. There is no other word to describe it.
Third of all, is this offense incapable of scoring when Terrell Owens is not on the field? When he does come back to the field, are you going to be surprised when teams just unload on him with hopes of putting him back on the sidelines? It looks like the formula is simple, No TO=No Cowboys offense. Knock TO out of the game, you've eliminated the effectiveness of the Dallas Cowboys offensively.
Fourth of all, what's with Coach Phillips and this head in the sand routine he's doing? Yes, we all want to have the warm fuzzies and the guys need to be positively motivated. And I have no problem with that, so long as the guys are positively positive they just flat out royally sucked and are positively embarassed because of it. Smack talk from players is great until they don't back up their talk. Then they look like idiots. Coach Phillips can talk all day long and he won't convince me how great the Cowboys played in December. He might as well be trying to convince me that I like liver. He won't get very far there either.
Fifth of all, speaking of December, the Cowboys are well into their 2nd decade now of not having a winning record in regular season in games played after December 1st. While other teams are getting pumped and finding their groove heading towards the playoffs, the Cowboys convinced us, yet again, that they're closer to a Marx Brothers impersonation than an NFL team.
Sixth of all, running backs. After the last game of the season, I'm convinced there is a major problem at this position. Yes, the offensive line provided nothing to help those guys this past weekend, but one yard of rushing through an entire game is, as stated above, shameful. Both the running backs and the offensive line should be ashamed to be seen in daylight after such a poor performance. Julius Jones has proven this season, beyond any doubt, that he is what I've been saying for several years now. He's not the running back this team needs and frankly, I don't think he's capable of being a starting running back for any team that has serious playoff aspirations. At best, he's Plan B. On the other hand, I don't think Marion Barber is the "every down" running back the Cowboys need. Oh, he's a load for the opponent to have to contend with, no doubt. But I believe he's a situational player. He has excelled as that in the past and continues to do so. And he's one of my favorite Cowboys. He hasn't achieved Robert Newhouse status in my eyes, but he's working on it steadily. Julius Jones should not be wearing a star on his uniform next year. I've said it in years past and I'm saying it again. Someone listen to me this time.
Seventh of all. December. I've said in the past as I've harped on this subject, and I'm saying it again, until the Cowboys figure out how to get around this December Curse, they will be relegated to anonymity. SuperBowl winning football teams do not crater in December. The Cowboys do crater in December. It's business as usual at Valley Ranch yet again. If the Cowboys should somehow manage to get to the SuperBowl this season and then of all things, win it, they would defy reason, logic and common sense. Yes, I've heard the axium that "anything can happen in the playoffs". And yes, it can. But put your warm fuzzies and homerisms aside for a moment and tell me honestly. Do you think the Dallas Cowboys have a snowball's chance in hell of being competitive throughout this postseason?
But it's time you hear from me now.
I've stated in the past that I'm out of the prediction business, so you're not going to hear me declare how this season is going to end for the Cowboys.
But you are going to hear my opinion on a few issues.
First of all, what has happened to Tony Romo? This is his first full season and he played like a maniac the first half of the season. The last half, and particularly in December, his numbers just dropped from week to week for the most part. If you look only at his December stats, you see a very average, if that high, quarterback. You certainly don't see the saviour of the Dallas Cowboys. With the numbers Romo put up early last year, the fever began. Then his production fell off, or other teams figured out how to defend against him or something happened that shut him down for the last 5 games of the season. This year, he looked great for the first half of the season. Then adequate for the next few games. Then the clock tolled at 12:00 AM December 1st, and the world changed. He became Bad Tony. And the Cowboys became Bad Cowboys. In case you've forgotten, Romo is 0-1 in the playoffs.
Second of all, what has happened to the offensive line? One yard of rushing in a whole game? I don't care if you were starting the waterboys and playing them the whole game, even they should have gained more than one measly yard. This is shameful. There is no other word to describe it.
Third of all, is this offense incapable of scoring when Terrell Owens is not on the field? When he does come back to the field, are you going to be surprised when teams just unload on him with hopes of putting him back on the sidelines? It looks like the formula is simple, No TO=No Cowboys offense. Knock TO out of the game, you've eliminated the effectiveness of the Dallas Cowboys offensively.
Fourth of all, what's with Coach Phillips and this head in the sand routine he's doing? Yes, we all want to have the warm fuzzies and the guys need to be positively motivated. And I have no problem with that, so long as the guys are positively positive they just flat out royally sucked and are positively embarassed because of it. Smack talk from players is great until they don't back up their talk. Then they look like idiots. Coach Phillips can talk all day long and he won't convince me how great the Cowboys played in December. He might as well be trying to convince me that I like liver. He won't get very far there either.
Fifth of all, speaking of December, the Cowboys are well into their 2nd decade now of not having a winning record in regular season in games played after December 1st. While other teams are getting pumped and finding their groove heading towards the playoffs, the Cowboys convinced us, yet again, that they're closer to a Marx Brothers impersonation than an NFL team.
Sixth of all, running backs. After the last game of the season, I'm convinced there is a major problem at this position. Yes, the offensive line provided nothing to help those guys this past weekend, but one yard of rushing through an entire game is, as stated above, shameful. Both the running backs and the offensive line should be ashamed to be seen in daylight after such a poor performance. Julius Jones has proven this season, beyond any doubt, that he is what I've been saying for several years now. He's not the running back this team needs and frankly, I don't think he's capable of being a starting running back for any team that has serious playoff aspirations. At best, he's Plan B. On the other hand, I don't think Marion Barber is the "every down" running back the Cowboys need. Oh, he's a load for the opponent to have to contend with, no doubt. But I believe he's a situational player. He has excelled as that in the past and continues to do so. And he's one of my favorite Cowboys. He hasn't achieved Robert Newhouse status in my eyes, but he's working on it steadily. Julius Jones should not be wearing a star on his uniform next year. I've said it in years past and I'm saying it again. Someone listen to me this time.
Seventh of all. December. I've said in the past as I've harped on this subject, and I'm saying it again, until the Cowboys figure out how to get around this December Curse, they will be relegated to anonymity. SuperBowl winning football teams do not crater in December. The Cowboys do crater in December. It's business as usual at Valley Ranch yet again. If the Cowboys should somehow manage to get to the SuperBowl this season and then of all things, win it, they would defy reason, logic and common sense. Yes, I've heard the axium that "anything can happen in the playoffs". And yes, it can. But put your warm fuzzies and homerisms aside for a moment and tell me honestly. Do you think the Dallas Cowboys have a snowball's chance in hell of being competitive throughout this postseason?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
