A Chink in the Star?

I’m getting a bit worried; a lot of you Cowboys’ fans are.


The best thing is to not be, though. Always think optimistcally; the ‘silver lining’-type deal.


Many would ask, “What’s up with this team lately?”


“We need to get rid of somebody; fire ‘em all!”


“Wade [Phillips] ain’t no ‘Mr. Fix It, he’s ‘Mr. Broke It’. The team’s a wreck!”


The answer to all of that is-


No.


This team has got it all; here and there with the different parts to the whole puzzle in all phases, but the thing has been mainly on injuries, and costly mistakes, that really have to be looked at. The execution has to be down pat at all times. (Easier said than done, obviously.)


The Cowboys hands down, THE most talented team in the league.


Now if only they were healthy and playing at a premiere level, other than the sub par level they’ve been at for the past few weeks.


You’ve got all these important pieces of your team down and out with injuries; most coming off of that horrible debacle that was a loss in OT to an Arizona ball club that really came out to play on their home field.


And to think that their plan before the regular season started to devise a scheme to not sell tickets to Cowboys’ fans so that all the Cardinals’ faithful would fill up University of Phoenix Stadium to look like the ‘Red’ Sea. Last season, all the Dallas fans came to Arizona as the Cowboys played the same Cardinals’ team (Although present backup QB Matt Leinart of the Cardinals was the starter of last year’s game, veteran Kurt Warner started this game); and the ‘12th man’ for Dallas really came through, making up nearly all of the seat capacity for the game, which the Cowboys won, 35-17.


Wasn’t the same result this year. This game lasted longer, and had to happen in a pretty woeful way.


Tony Romo gets hurt on the first play of OT; losing the football for the 3rd time in the game, and as he’s trying to corral the ball in, he’s brought down and all the force lands on the right pinkie of his. Didn’t come out to be a pretty good sight once he was trying to get the ball from the ground, and I noticed the pinkie looking awkward. (He wanted to give it a go for last week’s St. Louis game, but during pregame warm-ups, the splint for his throwing hand’s pinkie wasn’t cooperating with him.)


Thus, the next two throws he passes were both incomplete and we were forced to punt; pretty much, if you saw the rest of the game after that, you know what comes next.


Off of the last play in overtime, Pro-Bowl punter Mat McBriar breaks his foot while he was about to punt, and then the defender on Arizona just smashes the ball, and the foot, of McBriar’s and then that’s that; he’s out for 6-8 weeks.


WR Sam Hurd, he also gets hurt as well; same ankle he had a problem with during preseason; requires surgery and he’s out for the season.


LB Anthony Spencer; hamstring, he’s week-to-week.


Rookie RB Felix Jones, Mr. ‘Lightning in a bottle’, he’s hurt with a hamstring injury, as well; he’s out for about 2-4 weeks.


Safety Roy L. Williams, not the newly acquisitioned WR Roy E. Williams from Detroit (from UT; Hook ‘em; signed 5 year, $45M extension that gives him about $27M in guaranteed money.) [also got to add in the middle initial in the name now with them having the same first/last name.] breaks the same arm as he did in the early division thriller game vs. Philly; he’s out for the season; wasn’t really doing anything anyway. Seemed it was still the same, “Ahh, c’mon bro, that was your guy, not mine”, “I was going this way, and you’re supposed to be going that way!”


You know what I’m talking about.


All these injuries, they’re really costly to the team’s hopes at getting anywhere deep in the postseason. It wouldn’t really be that big of a blow to the team if the injuries happened to the players who don’t really see the field often and that play an important part, but once the injury bug bites your team, it bites. No remorse. Letting time and rest will be key.


Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones?


He’s not injured, just suspended, and probably for good. We won’t have to worry about another off-the-field issue.


And for this past week’s game without Romo vs. the Rams, was dreadful.


40 year-old Brad Johnson--


Let me repeat that. (*clears throat)


40 year-old Brad Johnson, who doesn’t seem to have the arm strength he used to have, well, maybe because of his age? (Not trying to be ageist here.) He never even had the big arm, anyway, but it used to look a whole lot better from the time he was with the Super Bowl winning Tampa Bay Bucs some years back.


The offense could not get the ball moving; very lackluster, only for when the Cowboys had the ball their first drive with the result being a touchdown from Marion Barber.


Johnson’s important [and costly] stats on the day: 1 TD. 3 INTs.


You can’t win as a QB, let alone as a team if you’re giving up these types of numbers, turnover wise. Probably lucky if the opposing team’s doing as good as you or worse.


Though some of the passes Johnson threw that ended up being picked off, weren’t really his fault, they 2 out of the 3 INTs (ugh, just hate seeing that stat.) were off of tipped passes, the first intended for TE Jason Witten and then the second one was off of the hands of one of the Rams D-linemen, making one of the Rams’ LB the improper recipient of the football. (By the way, that second tipped pass was intended for Witten again on the flat.)


The third, boy, was it terrible. I heard from one football analyst that the ball took so long to get to the receiver, and that person’s right, it did take forever; (Romo's wouldn't, if it weren't for his broken pinkie.) floating in the air like a lame duck forever. The pass was to Owens, but the Rams’ safety read the play and since the ball took too long to get to T.O. on time, it wasn’t really much of an effort in my eyes for the guy to intercept the ball.


So here’s the thing. I’m really hoping that we get a chance to see the third string QB, Brooks Bollinger; I know, kind of excited, for a third string quarterback to take the helm. That’s what we were searching for in Tony Romo when he was in that position. See how that has been so far, besides the lost fumble in the Wildcard playoff game vs. Seattle; Jessica Simpson entering his life; the late game interception vs. the Giants the previous year after a first-round bye, and now besides this injury?


There, can’t ridicule me on that one.


“Is this the season on the brink for Dallas?” is was I’ve been hearing lately on ESPN, it might seem like it, but I’m not really looking forward into seeing a chink in the big blue distinctive star known all across America as well as the world.


The Cowboys’ star has always been a symbol where it is immutable; can’t be changed, tarnished, broken down; it represents a long lasting history of glory, victory, and triumph. So this team really has to get their mind’s right; someone should really take charge, not from the coaches, or executive level, being Jerry Jones, but it should be a few of the players that should actually voice their feelings out instead of holding it all inside and lead by example. There are actual captains on the team, but no one’s actually taking the bull by the horns and really saying, “Hey, the buck stops here.” [Thank you Harry S Truman.]


Wade Phillips has already wanted to take full control of playcalling on the defensive side of the ball and relieved Brian Stewart of that title. Phillips has a knack for the 3-4 scheme; had it his whole coaching career. That’s one of the reason’s why we brought him here over from San Diego.


He sees that the defense that is presently shown now isn’t really getting it done, whether it be the players or the actual gameplan, [Thanks a lot Brian Stewart.] so since he’s actually wanting to know the ins and outs of the defensive part of the ball, then shoot, go for it, Wade, you’re the head coach, way to think of something like that all the way to the 24th game coaching (including playoffs) the team when you came here. Though I like the guy; very easy-going kind of coach which is a heck of a lot simpler and probably better to approach to then the stinky “Tuna” we had that was expired.


But if he wanted to get another guy in he knows well in Stewart to handle the job, fine.


I’d at least want to know more or get to the bottom of what’s up with the defensive play calls Stewart’s giving out that just ‘quite’ aren’t getting it done.


Had to go with the ‘quite’ for the former defensive coordinator Brian Stewart; it’s not like I’ve already ripped a ‘little’ bit, right?

America's Team, as of late...

The Cowboys before this season have really been invovled with the hype and hoopla of where they would end up at the season's end. Personally, I know exactly where they'd be.


Dallas as of late has gone through the first quarter of the regular season, and they haven't shyed away from what critics and media have been saying for so long. Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Terrell Owens and Co. are doing what they got to do to win and succeed. Though a couple of weeks ago, the Cowboys stumbled a bit against their arch enemy Washington at home.


My church is about to end around the time the game started, (my church at times would just sort of go on and on when it'd be around game time at 3:15; I'm just wanting to go home.) and once I get home to watch the game, it's pretty even, and then all of a sudden, the Cowboys' run defense who's known to stop anything coming at them, falters and lets Redskins' RB Clinton Portis, the same player who was the only running back vs. the Cowboys to rush for over 100 yards, does the exact same thing to them again. Really frustrating to watch them from behind, which would be the same for anyone else whose a diehard Cowboys' fan.


Cowboys attempted to rally late; scored a touchdown to Miles Austin, a 3-year player whose shown that he can really help out the WR position under Owens, Patrick Crayton, and Jason Witten. Then an onside kick would have to follow in order for the 'good guys' to get the ball, [at this point, the score's 26-24, which was ultimately the final] then as the ball leaves the tee, it just barely touches another young wide reciever's hands, Sam Hurd, and it goes out of bounds.


That's it. Ball game.


Afterwards, Terrell Owens talks on the podium, literally complaining about not getting the ball enough.


Look, the ball was in your hands for about 2/3 of the offensive play calls. [thrown to 18 times, caught 2; also ran the ball off reverses a few times.] and you still say that you weren't involved? I totally respect the man, don't get me wrong, but he should just shut his mouth; get open when they're covering you like white on rice, and actually catch the ball whenever it's in your grasp. It'd help a lot. Not just YOU.


But the TEAM.


Even the Cowboys' first round draft pick Felix Jones, known for his ability to be compared as "lightning in a bottle", hardly got a touch in the action, if any. It would've really been a game-changer if he was to get it going and the rock fed to him a few times.


The following game, this past week vs. Cincinnati, the 'Boys actually showed what the team's all about; run first, then get the ball in the air to the open guy; gain yardage and punch the ball in for the score. Making sure its a habit that you can't get rid of. Early in the game, it was definitely all Cowboys 17-0, but the Bengals were awaken from their slumber and came out firing; having the score up at 17-16 at one point.


The deciding play, well, two, are one when lineback Anthony Spencer recovers a fumble to give the Cowboys to redeem themselves after a poor 3-and-out the previous drive. If it wasn't for the fortuitous fumble, then the Bengals would've been on top late in the game, and it would've been all she wrote.


"Not so fast my friend!", in the lines of College football's own, Lee Corso.


The other big play was when T.O. snags the ball of a slant route and get a block from fellow receiever Patrick Crayton further down the field to springboard him for 6; along with his own blazing speed, of course.


So they're sitting high and mighty right now, though after the Redskins' loss, speculators of the media seemed to think that Dallas isn't that good of a team, not what they thought from before. It's okay though. There wasn't a following week of a loss to stack up the "L" column; they got their heads together, made sure it was a TEAM performance, and they did what they had to, and always and shall do.


Which is make this team and city proud of them by winning and perhaps bringing home some much deprived hardware.