110 Percent Pick'em Contest 2009 (and more!)

If anyone is still reading around these parts, for the third year, we have posted an NFL Pick'em contest.

To join, go to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports Pro Football Pick'em. Here is the important information:

League name: 110 Percent

Group ID#: 34198

Password: allonthefield

New for this year is confidence points. We have had some tight races in the past, so maybe adding confidence values will help in that regard.

Also, we will have a Survival Football game this year. All you have to do is pick one winner each week. Sounds easy, right? Give it a try and see... 

League name: 110 Percent

Group ID#: 12914

Password: allonthefield

Be sure to join up before the early games on Thursday, and good luck!

Don't let the door hit ya

In PJ’s last post, he did something quite amazing. He made many accurate observations regarding Dallas and Terrell Owens, and still arrived at the wrong conclusion. Allow me to explain.

In theory, I agree with each of his observations. A head coach and an offensive coordinator should be able to control a player. And T.O.’s disruptions should be easily shrugged off by the rest of the team. However, this is not the reality of the Dallas Cowboys. We do have a puppet head coach who is unwilling and/or unable to assert his authority. And clearly, T.O. was a disruption. What should have happened last season is irrelevant. Roy Williams may or may not be the new number one, but that is also irrelevant when discussing if the Cowboys should keep T.O.

Besides all that, T.O. can’t produce like he once did. I completely agree that Jason Garrett needs to do a better job as offensive coordinator—I’m no fan of his work—but it’s not entirely his fault. T.O. simply can’t do the things he once did. PJ acknowledges this, but attributes it all to the failure of Garrett. The fact is that T.O. has lost a step, and has developed a reluctance to sacrifice his body to make a catch. And despite his reputation, T.O. did take plays off on occasion last year. This drop in production alone justifies his release.

However, that, of course, is not the only reason to let him go. We may not have the specifics in this “he said, he said” drama, but there can be no doubt that T.O. divided the locker room. Patrick Crayton followed T.O. like a puppy dog, and Roy Williams was starting to do the same. Releasing Owens sends the message to the impressionable players that there is a limit. Hopefully, this will serve as a signal to them to cut the foolishness—Orlando Scandrick has already gotten the message.

PJ also points out that most wide receivers always think they are open. True enough. If T.O. only said he was open, there would be no problem. His act went well beyond that this year, however, and that is what makes it unacceptable. PJ also points out that T.O. was never in trouble off the field. Also true, but to be honest, if I have to choose between a good teammate who has legal issues and a locker room cancer who keeps his nose clean, well, give me Michael Irvin every time.

Having said all that, T.O. is the symptom, not the problem. As I said before, a coach should be able to control his team, and one player’s antics shouldn’t derail a team. But that’s not how things work in Dallas, and that isn’t T.O.’s fault. It has been common to say in years past that Jerry the Owner should fire Jerry the GM, meaning that Jerry is a good owner but a poor talent evaluator. I don’t believe that is true anymore. Jerry the Owner is causing these problems. He has repeatedly emasculated his head coach, most recently with the gag order he implemented at Valley Ranch. Until Jerry the Owner changes the culture at Valley Ranch, these problems will continue.

T.O. is gone, and that is a good thing. By no means, however, is it the last change that needs to happen with the Cowboys.

T-Oh no...

So, I haven't written in a LONG time as I am prone to do which is odd cause I really don't have as much on my plate as normal. But, something happened last night that I really feel the need to discuss at least a little bit. The Dallas Cowboys released Terrell Owens. First, I want to look at just numbers involving this deal and then I'll go into my opinion.

Over the past three seasons, TO had more TD receptions than anyone in the NFL. Last season he led the team with yardage (1052) and TDs (10). He is due to give the Cowboys a $9 Million hit against the cap this year instead of $8 Million this and some amount next year. With TO, the Cowboys finished the last three years ranked 5th, 3rd, and 13th in total offense. And 4th, 2nd, and 18th in points. They have also won 0 playoff games.

The laundry list of why he was let go includes the following:
1. He had too much power. The offensive coordinator, QB, and even head coach had to run a certain number of plays through him or he would get frustrated.
2. He's not as good as he used to be. He's 35 and WR's after that age tend to lose a step.
3. They've got the incumbent WR waiting in Roy Williams.
4. His antics are a constant distraction in and out of the lockerroom.

So, now for my opinion: I don't like this move. Not yet anyway. Here's why.
1. So he had too much power... he is still a player right? He's not the coach, not in charge of personnel? Doesn't call plays? So what if he pouts if he isn't getting the ball. Shouldn't that be up to the coaches to handle? I don't have the numbers in front of me exactly, but how many games did they win when he wasn't prominently involved? I would wager it is small. If the Cowboys had something other than a puppet for a head coach, he could have handled that.
2. He's declining. Yea, WR's tend to do so. But, other coordinators tend to find ways to make those wideouts more effective. I'm still not sure that Jason Garrett knows that he needs to get TO in motion or some other method so that he can escape the jamming at the line that tended to make him less effective.
3. Roy Williams? Really? With the Cowboys last year and the other teams' best cover team on TO, he had 19 receptions for 1 TD in ten games. I'm not that impressed so far.
4. His antics are a disruption. His celebrations did give the Cowboys 15 yard penalties after he scored, but he didn't take plays off. He ran solid routes, and other than his drop-happy first year in which he still managed to lead the team in TD's, he caught the ball when it was thrown to him.
Off the field he was always getting in trouble and alienating teammates... oh wait... he wasn't ever in trouble. You don't hear about him off the field unless some reporter is shoving a mic in his face and asking if the Cowboys used him enough. He would say no, as would EVERY OTHER WR IN THE LEAGUE! No receiver ever thinks he gets the ball enough. There were rumors of lockerroom issues, but nothing really solid.

Now, TO has had issues in the past that continue to haunt him. But, since he's been with the Boys, did he throw his QB under the bus? No. Did he work every game? Yes. Did he divide the lockerroom as it was said in the past? That's unclear, but apparently enough for Jerry.

Based on what I know so far, here are my predictions for next season:
1. I think that unless the Cowboys can get a top-flight receiver to replace Owens, which I don't believe they have in Roy Williams, there will be another season of missing the playoffs.
2. A NFC East opponent will pick up TO (Don't count out the Giants or Redskins) and he will kill the Cowboys every time they play.
3. Fans will continue to hate Jerry Jones the GM and wish he would be a quiet owner.

In the end, this was not a good move for the Cowboys. I hope I'm wrong.

Schadenfreude

The last couple of days, I've been under the weather. Sore throat, runny nose, congestion, mild fever. You know, the regular stuff. I posted my status on facebook as "Russell is still sick." Today, I thought about posting, "I am feeling schadenfreude." But I was afraid someone would reply, "Is it contagious?"

No, schadenfreude is a German word which basically means having a feeling of joy at someone else misfortune. It's not generally a positive feeling to have. I mean, what kind of jerk enjoys it when bad things happens to others? However, tonight, I am feeling a great deal of joy at the misfortune of Philadelphia Eagles' fans. They lost their forth NFC championship game in their last five tries.

Admittedly, the Eagles have an enviable record. In the last ten years since the arrival of Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid, the Eagles have made the playoffs seven times, the NFC championship five times (three of which they played at home), and the Super Bowl once (which they lost to the Patriots). But it must really suck to get to the NFC championship, be favored, and just know in your heart of hearts that your team is not going to have whatever it takes to cross that threshold.

Now, honestly, I would gladly trade the Cowboys' recent history for the Eagles. These two teams played a winner take all game just three weeks ago and the Cowboys didn't even bother to show up. But at the end of the day, let's take a quick look at the trophy case: Five to nothing. So, Eagles fans: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

110 Percent Hall of Fame 2008: Barry Sanders

As a Cowboys fan, I always sided with Emmitt Smith in the "Who's the greatest running back?" debate. And Emmitt provided plenty of support for my case: Super Bowl rings, MVPs, rushing titles, TD records: Emmitt had them all.

But Barry was no slouch, either. He was a Pro Bowler in each of his ten NFL seasons, and was first team All Pro six times. When he retired at thirty, he declined the opportunity to break the career rushing record that season. Emmitt set the record four years later, but Barry could have shattered it with only a few more seasons in his prime. Look at that picture again--look at those hips, that ankle. Bodies are simply not supposed to move that way. Most pictures of Barry look like bad Photoshop jobs--if it wasn't Sanders, we wouldn't believe it was real.

And let's not forget that while the NFL instituted the "Emmitt rule" to keep players from taking off their helmets on the field, Sanders quietly handed the ball to the ref after yet another score--classy.

Bottom line: Emmitt won because he had help, starting with an awesome offensive line and fellow stars at quarterback and wide receiver, not to mention a killer defense. Barry had none of these things. Any success the Lions had, including the win over Emmitt and the Cowboys in the 1991 playoffs, was due almost entirely to Barry.

In fact, that's what led to Barry's early retirement. Ten years of not getting a commitment to win from the Lions was enough--Barry walked away from it all. I was so convinced he would come back during the season, either with the Lions or another team, that I used a late round pick in my fantasy draft on him. Unfortunately for me and other NFL fans, I was wrong on that pick--Sanders never even looked back.

With Emmitt joining Sanders in retirement in 2004, the distance of time has finally allowed me to make a confession. Taking nothing away from Emmitt Smith: Barry was better.

Cowboy Fan? Yea, I still am. Despite you Mr. Jones

So, you may be wondering who this is as the last time I contributed a post was... well.. I'd rather not say. But, after watching (most) of the debacle on Sunday and having a day or two to digest it, I felt the need to address a few things. I agree with Rus' comments about the team having no heart. To point it out that much more, a fan actually picketed the Cowboys facility yesterday and was accosted by Bradie James. Normally, I'd make a funny joke about how James should have had more heart on Sunday than he did against this fan. But, I don't think James is to blame for the loss on Sunday. No, it has to go to the top, and like it always does, will go no where from there.

For the past couple days, I've been thinking that the Cowboys should fire the coach, but that's not the place to start. The GM is the one who really needs to be fired. Giving a large contract to Romo before he had a full couple of seasons as a starter was either shrewd, or foolish and right now, it's looking like the latter. Trading draft picks for Roy Williams who has done nothing since (or before) was foolish (I'm censoring myself in wording). Siding with Terrell Owens rather than a multiple Super Bowl winning coach was foolish. Bringing in character guys like Pacman and giving him opportunity without having good reason on or off the field was foolish. All of these things would have led any other GM in the league to be tossed to the curb. The problem of course being that the GM and Owner share the same skin (No Jimmy Johnson "Michael Jackson" jokes please).

After the GM goes, the coach needs to go next. He's stated that he plans on changing his approach a little next season, but to me those sounded like the words he was given to say by the GM who loves having a puppet for a coach. I understand the players have to execute a plan, but three things were curious to me during the game. 1. The team did not look ready to play, as they haven't most of the year. They have started slow especially lately. That is completely inexcusable in the type of game they were in on Sunday. 2. The defense seemed completely confused whenever Westbrook would slide down to a receiver position (something the Eagles do quite frequently). I'm not saying that the coach isn't putting time in watching film. I'm not naive enough to really think that, but that should be a formation that is heavily practiced against. 3. The team has completely taken on the form of its coach with the "whatever happens, happens". While that's a nice attitude to having in life, the absolute last thing I want to hear from my quarterback after that game is: "well, if this is the worst thing to ever happen to me, I've got a pretty good life going on." But, I'll get to Tony Romo in a minute.

Offensive Coordinator... I really don't know. For the brilliance he has shown, Jason Garrett has also shown some curious decisions. Throw out the games Tony was out, because I think Jessica Simpson would be a better option than Brad Johnson at QB. Not getting Felix Jones involved more before he was hurt was a curious choice. There is some confusion whether it is Tony or Jason trying to be forced to involve certain receivers, but either way, why are big physical receivers not being used like they were last season early on? The offense has seemed awful, and a lot of that has to go to Garrett. I think he's gone if the Lions want him. I wouldn't want to be associated with this mess at this point. I don't think it's a good thing for Dallas to lose him however. Yes, he had a bad season, but there seems to be a lot of whispers that was more to do with no support from the owner or coach.

Defensive Coordinator.. Remember when the Cowboys improved their defense after Wade threw his coordinator under the bus because they had a couple really good defensive games right when everyone got healthy? How did that work out when they played the last two teams of the season?

Players. You can't fire all your players and I don't think they should. There are some very talented people on the team, but they all need to keep their mouths shut. Romo - act like you care more. Nothing inspires confidence in your on-field leader like hearing the quote from above. Also, see how Peyton Manning has extra practices with his receivers to work on timing? Maybe try that or something. Witten - Change NOTHING. There is not a coach in the league who wouldn't want Witten as their tight end. (Or maybe even QB after last week). Owens - Pipe Down. When you were holding your peace during the games Romo was out, it was refreshing. Insinuating that the world is against you just makes you look like the primadonna everyone already thinks you are. Roy Williams - Actually, I like to pretend that neither one still plays for the Cowboys. Pacman - Make a play. Any play..

So, where does that leave me. My favorite team is awful and I don't think they'll turn around anytime soon. My second favorite team finished 11-5 and is not in the playoffs while Arizona (9-7) and San Diego (8-8) are hosting first round games. I lost the two rounds of playoffs in Fantasy Football, and saw my lead disappear and then finished fourth in Pick 'em. I think I'm glad football season is over.

Now to get to work on that Larry Bird column. Sorry Chris...

The State of the Dallas Sports Scene

It's been a while for me, so I'll jump back in by evaluating the state of Dallas sports. Putting it briefly: it isn't pretty. A year and a half ago we were looking at a series of near misses. Who knew those were the good old days?

Dallas Cowboys: Dallas has underachieved this year, but the problem is not Pac-Man Jones, Jerry, Wade, or any of the other "distractions" that get all the talk. The real problem is that this team has had to deal with something this year that they have avoided for a few years now: injuries. Since they have gotten most of their players back, they have been 3-0, although against weaker competition, bringing their season record to 8-4. The real test will be the last quarter of the season against playoff-caliber opponents. As tough as that will be, it has been made even tougher with the injury to MB3, especially with Felix Jones already out. Going at least 3-1 will be tough enough against these opponents, and having to do it for at least one game with a third string running back makes it even tougher. But if the Cowboys can do that, they should make the playoffs. They have left themselves no wiggle room, but if the Cowboys can't go 3-1, they aren't good enough anyway. For Dallas, the playoffs begin today.

Dallas Mavericks: I'm getting tired of reading articles or hearing radio personalities say that nobody could have seen the Mavs falling like they have. According to this, this, this, this, this, this and this, here at 110 Percent, we are nobodies. The Mavs are as soft as ever, but at least before they were young and soft, leaving hope that they would become grizzled veterans. Now they are just getting old and soft. They talk the same game of stepping up their defense and taking the ball to the basket, but as always, it's just talk. It stings even more seeing Devin Harris blossom into the Tony Parker starter kit that we were always told he would be. As for Josh Howard, not only is he an immature nutcase who can't play four quarters, but now he is also injured. Meanwhile, Ron Artest, who the Mavs could have aquired by dropping Howard, is a strong contributor down in Houston. Sure, the Mavs are on a 9-1 run, but like the Cowboys' last few opponents, it's been done against weak competition: eight of the ten teams have records worse than Dallas. Bad sign: the Mavs only have three players averaging double digit points. Worse sign: JJ Barea, Devean George, Antoine Wright, Shawne Williams and DaSagana Diop all get significant minutes with this club, and the Mavs are trying to convince us that this is OK. I am reminded of the mid-90's when Popeye Jones, Fat Lever, Loren Meyer and Sean Rooks were all supposed to be viable players. Hello, mediocrity!

Dallas Stars: Such high hopes. The Stars ended last season in the Western Conference Finals, but they haven't been able to carry that over to this season, instead fighting to stay out of the bottom spot for the entire league. Things went from bad to worse with the Sean Avery Incident, who likely has played his last game in Dallas. Tom Hicks has always been kinder to his hockey team than his baseball club, but I don't think he's going to enjoy buying out Avery's four year contract. Oh, well, at least everyone in the lockerroom will like each other as they miss the playoffs this year.

Texas Rangers: The Rangers have so far been inactive in the trade and free agent market, and I'm OK with that. Wheeling and dealing has not been this team's strongsuit. Imagine if the Braintrust had left well enough alone: we could have Edinson Volquez, John Danks and Chris Young at the top of the rotation. Hopefully, the Rangers will stick to their new plan of drafting smart, developing their own and making smart decisions. Who knows, in a couple years, the Rangers may be the most competitive team in Dallas.

Did we watch the same game?

I really shouldn't make a big deal about this. I really shouldn't be drawn offsides by the national media, but I just can't help it. One of the upsides to the Cowboys winning on Monday night was that I could listen to sports talk radio and read the blogs and sports writing and be happy. After a Cowboys loss (say after the Giants playoff game last year), I will not read the newspapers or blogs, listen to the sports talk show idiots, or anything else. But I was sure after Monday night's game I would enjoy a little ESPN radio praising the greatness of the previous night's game and the strength on the Cowboys and just laugh while reading Peter King and others venerate the Cowboys. But instead of praising the Cowboys, the Colin Cowherd of ESPN and Peter King of SI evidently quit watching the game after halftime when the Eagles were ahead 30-24 and assumed that it was misprint that the Cowboys outscored the Eagles 17-7 in the 2nd half. They worshiped at the shrine of Donovan McNabb who was great until about 10 mins to go in the game when he evidently got tired and quit being able to complete passes longer than 10 yards. In fact, the longest play for the Eagles late in the game was a ten yard pass to a TE on a 2nd and 18 (the series ended in a punt). The fumble was clearly Donovan's fault as he was seemingly unable to decide if he was going to give it to Westbrook or to the receiver on the reverse. It was that choke job that turned the tide towards the Cowboys. Cowherd trumpeted over and over how the Eagles were able to get yards when they needed them. However, he failed to mention that the Eagles got inside the Cowboys 25 five times and had to settle for field goals in three of them. Two of the Eagles TD were a direct result of Cowboy turnovers, both of them really unforced, but rather bad plays by Tony Romo. So the absolutely awesome Eagle offense scored 23 points. Hardly the stuff of domination. Also, they talked about the return of Donovan McNabb, but they evidently missed the stats about his performance in Sept. the last few years. He's been dominant. There is a good questions whether he'll be able to keep it up. The Eagles better hope so.

Another group that got a ton of praise from the national media was the vaunted Eagle defense. But Tony Romo emerged from the game almost completely untouched (except, of course for the unforced errors of the fumble and the pic). The Cowboys showed their offensive strength by being able to almost completely stay away from TO and still move the ball at will against the Eagles. It opened up Marion Barber to get 51 yards on 11 carries in the 2nd half after just 12 on 7 carries in the first. Jason Witten made their line backers and safeties look silly and the Cowboys lower rung guys like Martellus Bennett, Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, and Tony Curtis made plays as the Eagles payed their attention to TO.

I could go on. It's still early. The last several years the Cowboys have been great until the calendar turns into December. And all this won't matter if they fall apart down the stretch and there are things that concern me. Tony Romo being the crazy gunslinger is one and the penalties (which make me think of their lack of disciple) is another. But I want the national media to realize that the Eagles are good and maybe the 3 best teams in the NFL are in NFC East, but the Cowboys were clearly the best team on Monday.

2008 NFL predictions

I'm just getting my picks in under the wire (What? What Thursday night game?), so there's not too much time for analysis. Doesn't make me wrong, though.

NFC West: The Seattle Seahawks should win this division, but I don't think they'll be bragging too much about it.

NFC South: This is a tough one for me. New Orleans has the team to return to their 2006 form, but Tampa Bay could also challenge for the division title. I'm flipping a coin and saying the New Orleans Saints will win the South in a close one.

NFC North: If Brett Favre had gone to the Vikings, I might have picked them as Super Bowl contenders. With Jackson behind center, the Minnesota Vikings should still win a weak division, but I don't see them making too much noise in the playoffs.

NFC East: This is the toughest division in the NFL, and I see both wildcards coming from here, just like last year. The Dallas Cowboys, though, will be the division champs.

Wildcards: The Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants will make the playoffs out of the East, leaving the Washington Redskins as a good team sitting at home in January.

AFC West: The San Diego Chargers should have no trouble winning the West. Their biggest concern should be not getting too rusty heading into the playoffs.

AFC South: Jacksonville should give Manning and Co. a run, but in the end, the Indianapolis Colts are the best in the South.

AFC North: Cincinnati and Cleveland get a lot of attention, but the Pittsburgh Steelers will quietly win the North. Cincy still has too many headaches that will likely cost Marvin Lewis his job this year. As for Cleveland: have you seen their schedule?

AFC East: You heard it here first: the Buffalo Bills will win the East over the Pats, whose age, especially on defense, will catch them in the end.

Wildcards: Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots. Two solid runners-up who might take their divisions. Either way, these are the six teams you will see in the AFC side of the playoffs.

Super Bowl: The Cowboys should emerge from the NFC playoffs, but the AFC is harder to pick. The playoff teams there are so balanced that it is hard to differentiate them. I think the Chargers will be rusty going in, so they're out. Pittsburgh is a good team but a little short on talent. Buffalo is too young and New England is too old. Jacksonville is still a year away. So that means the Dallas Cowboys will earn their sixth Super Bowl trophy over the Indianapolis Colts in what should be a great game. Book it.

From bad boys to good deals

Two years ago, the Cowboys signed Terrell Owens, a bad guy. T.O. was bad because he had been blamed for poisoning locker rooms in San Francisco and Philadelphia and making enemies in Baltimore after refusing a trade to the Ravens. Owens has never been in trouble off the field and no one would question his work ethic. But he has clashed with teammates and coaches when things haven't gone to his liking.

And then there is Adam 'Pacman' Jones, also a bad guy, but a different kind of bad than T.O. Jones had no problems fitting into the Titans locker room, but off the field he has been almost nothing but trouble, eventually receiving a minimum one year suspension from the NFL.

So which type of bad is worse?

The answer is most likely whichever one you are dealing with at any particular moment. It also depends on exactly what you are talking about. If you are talking about a good teammate, then T.O. is potentially the greater problem. If you are talking about marketing or public perception, Pacman is probably a bigger headache. But either one is more than capable of tearing a team apart.

Which leads us to the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones has apparently discovered a new favorite way to legally circumvent the salary cap: acquiring 'bad guys' cheaply on the rebound. T.O. was a a cheap acquisition two years ago, Tank Johnson became a Cowboy at little cost during last season, and now Pacman is in a holding pattern. Each player is a star on the field, but because of their 'bad boy' history, they have a contract that puts little to no financial risk on the team should any further problems occur.

And as a Cowboy fan, I think this is brilliant.

These players are poison for their old teams so the Cowboys have all the leverage in negotiations. The Boys end up with first round talent for late round picks, Pro Bowlers for backup dollars. Each of these players is likely on their last chance in the NFL with the Cowboys and have so far been on their best behavior. And if a problem should occur all Dallas has to do is release them because of the structure of the contract.

Of course, while the contract structure provides a safety net, these players are acquired with the hopes that that won't have to happen. So far, the Cowboys have been able to create an environment that keeps these players productive and out of trouble. Maybe they have just been lucky. Maybe they really know what they are doing. Either way, the results have been positive so far in Dallas.

Who knows, a few more of these 'bad boy' deals and they might even win a playoff game.

The role of the record book

Prior to each of past three seasons, Brett Favre has contemplated retirement. Each time, he chose to come back, despite various difficulties in his private life and the Packers struggles on the field. So when the Favre and the Pack had a great season in 2007, and high expectations in 2008 for the first time in years, what does Favre do? He suddenly, and unexpectedly, retires.

Favre has had a fantastic career, and is without question one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. As for the timing of the retirement, Favre has said that he didn't feel wanted by the Packers and that the only reason to come back would be to win a Super Bowl. But is that the whole story?

Allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment. Prior to 2007, Favre had 57,500 yards, 414 touchdowns, 5021 completions on 8223 attempts, and 147 wins. Oh, he also had 273 interceptions. After the 2007 season, Favre passed Marino's 61,361 yards for a career total of 61,655. His 442 TDs surpassed Marino's 420. He already had the completion record, but the extra season got him to 8758 attempts, bettering Marino's 8358. He easily surpassed Elway's 148 wins, setting the new mark at 160. For good measure, he even passed Blanda's interception total of 277, reaching 288. Might not have hurt to leave that one out, Brett.

I know he's a year older and that he wants to spend time with his family. But the Pack have as good a chance as anybody of reaching the Super Bowl next year. Could the fact that he has no more records to chase play a role in his decision? Better question: Is there anything wrong with that?

Sometimes I love being wrong

Two days ago, I commented on Rus's article, saying that the Patriots were going to wipe out the Giants.

I have never been so happy to be wrong.

In his new post (see below), PJ gave me credit for predicting the Super Bowl loss, which I did do. But I bailed on that in the second round when both Indy and Dallas folded. I resigned myself to the inevitable. The Giants? Are you kidding?

But the football gods were merely aligning the pieces to make the Patsies fall that much sweeter.

Do I wish it was the Cowboys instead? Of course, but they had their chance and blew it. Back to the drawing board. And as a Cowboys fan, I take great pride in being a fan of America's Team. But today, that title belongs to the Giants. They truly represented all of the NFL and all of America when they defeated the Patsies.

I'm not one to take joy from the suffering of others, but watching them lose was truly sweet, the definition of poetic justice. This was retribution for Spygate and the ensuing arrogance, payback for running up scores.

And they can't even look forward to peace in the off season. The NFL tried to sweep it under the rug during the season, but with new video allegations, Belicheat is going to have to finally give some answers.

But that will be for another day. For now, the Pats have been relegated to trivia status. Years from now, someone Wanting to Become a Millionaire will do just that by answering the question: Which team went undefeated in the regular season only to fall short of perfection in the Super Bowl?

And I will still be smiling.

Whoop-de-freakin'-do

Well, the Giants won. I guess I'm happy. I mean I was rooting for them half-heartedly. No, make that about a quarter-heartedly. I mean, it's sorta like asking would I rather drown or burn to death. Either way I loose.

The thing that really ticks me off is that it could have been the Cowboys. It's should have been the Cowboys. I mean, this was how I drew it up after New England beat the Cowboys earlier in the season. The Pats go undefeated until the Super Bowl and then they lose. Except that the Giants took the place of the Cowboys as the upset super bowl victor. It ought to leave a bad taste in every Cowboys fan.

The window for winning championships for most teams these days is small. That's why the Mavs should still feel sick about 2006. It was right there in their hands and they vomited all over themselves. Now the question is are they good enough to win this year? There's a long way to go, but it's not looking good.

But back the Cowboys: give credit to the GIants. They got hot and rode a really strong defense to the Super Bowl. (By the way, I can't believe Eli won the MVP. I mean, the defense held the Pats to 14 points!) It was the defense that beat the Cowboys. They wouldn't allow them to do anything in the second half when the Cowboy defense stiffened. The only touchdown the GIants scored in the second half was on a short field. But the difference was that when the Cowboys got into the red zone, they had to settle for field goal, while the GIants scored a touchdown.

There is reason to be optimistic about the Cowboys next year. But they had a chance this year and let it get away. But bottom line is this: I will not believe in the Cowboys until the playoffs. Because everything good that happens next year in the regular season won't mean jack squat. It is officially Super Bowl of bust.

Sometimes I hate being right

Last April, when the NFL schedule was released, I predicted a 13-3 season for the Boys. OK, so I didn't specifically nail two of the losses--sue me. Thanks to the fact that most of our low traffic consists of Cowboys fans, that flew by largely uncontested. Not so on Armchair GM, where I was accused of making a meaningless prediction in April and smoking up with Michael Irvin. But I argued that the schedule was ridiculously easy and that they had every chance of losing their first playoff game anyway. So I was vindicated in the end.

And vindication has never felt so empty.

Does this feel at all familiar to anyone else from Dallas? Let's see: high-profile team dominates the regular season, setting a franchise record, only to humbly bow out early in the playoffs. Where have I heard that before?

So where do we go from here? I don't mind telling you that I already predicted that, too. Statistically, the defense was improved, but they gave up big plays at all the wrong times. Hopefully, Dave Campo can get that secondary to finally clamp down and play like the Pro Bowlers that three(!) of them are. I'm glad Jerry talked Jason Garrett into hanging around, but he has got to do something about the running game. It was just like the defense: if you look at the stats, they were pretty good. But when it really needed to, this team could not run the ball. A high flying passing game will lead SportsCenter and attract bimbo girlfriends, but this team needs to be able to pound the ball when the game is on the line. Special teams continued to lose field position, too. With Campo already on board and Capers mulling an offer, maybe we could add one more former head coach to the staff: Jimmy Johnson. He always stressed the importance of special teams. Quick, someone go sink Three Rings and pass a rumor that Jerry sold the team.

Just like the Mavs, the Cowboys are going to have a long off season to think about the what-ifs. But it is no secret what they have to do: everyone knows that defense and a running game win championships. Get it done, Boys.

Over the last month and the greater good

It's been a while since I've posted and alot of things have happened.

*The Mavs have been playing well. In fact, they've gone 13-4 since my last post. But Devin Harris just got hurt. I'm not to worried since he's only out for 2-3 weeks. I mean the Mavs almost won 70 last year with Jason Terry at the point, so I think they can survive for a couple of weeks. Unless someone else gets hurt. Then all bets are off. It does bring up the thought of righting at least one of the wrongs of the 90s Mavericks and trading for Jason Kidd. I'll just say this. I'd do it, but ain't holding my breath.

*The Stars have been struggling at 9-9. I don't follow them as closely, but I wonder what they're going to do with Marty Turco. I keep waiting for P.J. to post his thoughts. It seems to me that a Brian St. Louis would be a pretty good haul for Turco. But I know less about hockey than just about anything else.

*The Rangers fortified their starting rotation with the addition of Jason Jennings, who is probably going to fit in well with the Rangers rotation. As an Astros and Rangers fan, I am really really underwhelmed. Hopefully, he is over the health issues that plagued him in his only year as an Astros. But he sucked last year and it was especially bad in light of what the Astros gave up for him. Maybe he turns it around and pitches well this year. But the real problem is that he is another in a long line of pitchers signed to one year "make good" deals who end up sucking, like Pedro Astacio, Ismael Valdez, and Mark Clark. Plus the idea of bringing him and then, if he's any good, trading him ticks me off because I hold dreams (or hallucinations) of a competitive Ranger team that should not be trading off players at the end of the year. But in addition to Jennings, the Rangers also brought in pitchers Eddie Guardado and Kazuo Fukimori and toyed around with trading Marlon Byrd for Matt Murton (which I'd probably do). But overall, each of these moves are met with a collective *yawn*. I have written on my calender that pitchers and catchers report on Feb 14. Can't happen a moment too soon.

*In college sports, Texas won the Holiday Bowl. Which is fine, but really, I expect so much more from Texas. I like what Mack Brown has done so far: hiring Will Muschamp to coordinate the defense and bringing Major Applewhite home. Still don't think Colt McCoy is good enough to take this team to the national championship. Texas Tech won an exciting bowl game, and Texas A&M lost a bowl game. College basketball looks good for Texas, A&M, and Baylor. I don't pay attention to college basketball until March anyway.

*The Titans made the playoffs, but lost a tough first round game to the Chargers. Vince Young has a new offensive coordinator, but I think the real question is is he willing to do what it takes to be a great NFL quarterback. Merrill Hoge not withstanding, everyone thinks that he's got all the talent in the world and is going to be great, but he's gotta want it. Is he going to work on his passing game? Also, are the Titans going to surround him with the talent he needs at WR? In the two years that I've followed the Titans, it seems that Bud Adams, the owner, is cheap. They invested a #3 pick and millions of dollars on their quarterback, but last year completely failed to improve their receiving corp.

*Something else happened in Dallas sports over the last month, but I forgot what it was. I may be repressing memories.

*Anyway, about the greater good that I referenced in the title. With the Super Bowl coming up, the question for football fans everywhere is who to root for. Usually, if I don't have an interest, I root for the underdog. But this year, I hate almost equally both teams. I'm so beaten by the Pats and their "quest for perfection." You'd think after the whole spy thing, the arrogance, the jerkiness of Belichek, the football gods would wake up and kick them in the shorts. But the thing is the Giants aren't a love able team either. Michael Strahan just beats me. Every time I see him, I turn off the TV. In fact, to be honest, I've watched so little of ESPN and quit listening to sports talk radio over the last couple of weeks, they could have called the whole thing off and I may not have heard about it.
But beyond all this: the Super Bowl is further proof that the sports universe revolves around New York and Boston and as a New York and Boston sports hater, this is hell. But in the grand scheme of things, the Boston sports fan must be stopped! First, the Red Sox, now, the Patriots, and coming soon, the Celtics. Even the New England Revolution made the MLS championship! (Full disclosure: I had to look that up. I just guessed that the Rev (as I'm sure they're called) would have been any good this year.) I'm surprised the Bruins aren't kicking butt in the NHL. For the greater good of sports and the rest of the nation. Down with the Pats! Go Giants! (I think I'm gonna be sick).

Steroid hypocrisy

Yesterday, I got in the car and turned on the radio and it was on ESPN radio. During the Sports Center Update, Fernando Vina was confessing his sins of using Performance Enhancing Drugs. This is by no means the only word about steroid or PEDs. Turn the dial down again and it's someone saying Roger Clemens won't make the Hall of Fame. Flip on the TV and someone is condemning the culture of drug use that has run rampant in baseball. Go to the blogs and someone else is calling the Yankee World Series victories into question.
Then wait a few minutes and there's a commercial depicting Shawne Merriman. In this commercial Merriman absolutely devastates several opposing offences in a row. This is the same Merriman who was suspended last year for PED. Of course, it's not surprising that he would be featured because despite the suspension, he was named to the Pro Bowl. As far as I know, he never has gone on TV or radio to try to justify his use of PED.
This isn't the only player who got busted for steroids, but not only got a pass, but was celebrated. Luis Castillo, a Charger defensive tackle, a confessed steroid user who used his enhanced performance to be able to wow the teams at the pre-draft combine, was drafted in the 1st round and then was the cover boy for the Madden 08 video game Spanish edition.
After baseball was called on the carpet before grandstanding congressional hearings, and was absolutely dragged through the mud, the NFL came and the congressmen just drooled all over them.
I could go on and on. For some reason, the fabric of society is threatened by the use of PEDs by baseball players. And of course, what about the children??? But football players get continue to get bigger, stronger, and faster, and more and more comes out about what is happening in football, but it's give a big, hearty "meh."
I'm not saying that PEDs are ok and that we shouldn't do anything and just let professional sports become like the Olympics and professional bike riding, but I just ask that we give a little bit of equity here.

Out on a limb

I'm setting myself up for heaps of ridicule, but I want to go on the record now that New England will not win the Super Bowl this year. This is something I have wanted to do all season but never got around to for one reason or another, and to be honest, some of my original reasons are losing steam. Nevertheless, I still think I am right on this and need to document it now if I want to brag about it in a couple of months.

First of all, if you give me the choice of one team or the field, I'll take the field every time. New England may have the best odds to win the Super Bowl, but they still have less of a chance than the rest of the league combined. If you were to press me on it, I'd say that Indianapolis and Dallas have the best chance to knock them off.

Next up is one of my apparently failed reasons: injuries. Earlier in the season, I really thought a major injury or two would wipe the team out. I just couldn't see them going all out the way they were and escaping the regular season healthy. Well, so far they have. That's OK, though, because I've got a few other reasons on which to hang my hat.

Another reason is karma. If there was ever a team that angered the football gods, it is New England. I'm not usually one to buy into this kind of stuff, but after Spygate and the way they have run up the score on everyone, the Patsies are going to get their due.

Which leads to my next reason: the Pats are not as dominant as their undefeated record implies. Let's not forget that Dallas has a single loss and Indy only two. Yes, both of these teams lost to the Pats, but a repeat win in the playoffs is by no means a lock for the Patriots. Forget for a moment what Brady has done this year, if ESPN and the mainstream media will let you. Everyone knows (but still manages to forget this time of year) that defense and a running game win championships. How does NE stack up? Defense is fourth (behind Indy at two, Dallas is eight), rushing is fourteenth (behind Indy at twelve and Dallas at nine). In fact, I think the Patriots and their pass-happy offense would have been better off if they had to go on the road to Indy in the AFC playoffs. New England's undefeated season is a sham anyway; remove Dallas and Indy, and the remaining Patriots opponents are 55-88.

My final reason is precedent, in the form of the 06-07 Mavericks, who went just about as close as you can get to undefeated in a 82 game NBA season. How did that work out for them again? The Mavs burned themselves out in the regular season, and Belichick is doing the same thing to the Pats in his chase for an undefeated season, or revenge for the slights his team received after Spygate, or whatever else is driving him. When the playoffs roll around and each opponent has a better record than sub-.400, the Pats will fold. I didn't think the Pats could go undefeated in the regular season, but I am now resigned to that. But I have come to embrace it; after all, it will be that much sweeter when they fall short of the championship.

Are the Pats good? Absolutely, but don't engrave the Lombardi yet.

The Allas Cowboys?

Disclaimer: I didn't get to watch yesterday's game with the Lions. It was the first game I have missed this year. So this post is based on what I've read and what I heard from Brad and Babe on the radio.
Here is the premium money and draft picks that the Cowboys have spent on their defense:
DE: Marcus Spears- 2005 1st round draft pick, Chris Canty- 2005 4th, and Jason Hatcher- 2006 3rd
DT: Jason Fergeson- 2005 free agent
LB: Greg Ellis- 1998 1st, DeMarcus Ware- 2005 1st, Bradie James- 2003 4th, Akin Ayodele- 2006 free agent, Kevin Burnett- 2005 2nd, Anthony Spencer- 2007 1st, Bobby Carpenter- 2006 1st
CB- Terrence Newman- 2003 1st, Anthony Henry- 2005 free agent
S- Roy Williams- 2002 1st
Not mentioned failed high picks like Dewayne Goodrich, Ebenezer Ekuban, and Tony Dixon.
They even hired a defensive guru coach in Wade Phillips. In fact, the last three head coaches have been defensive guys.
But then against one of the worst running offenses in the league and after a week of whining about something a 2nd rate quarterback said a year ago (after he had torched a playoff bound team for 300 yards and 4 TD passes), the D was gashed for 400 yards of total offense. John Kitna was the most sacked QB in the NFL, but the Cowboys hardly touched him and caused 0 turnovers. Kevin Jones averaged 4 yards a rush and Kitna completed 35-44.

The Cowboys have a strong offense. So strong that it overcame a fumble on the 1 yard line down by a touchdown and still drove down and won the game in the end. And it looks like that offense is going to have to carry this team as far as it will go. I mean, do you feel good about this defense against the Vikings again, especially when they have Adrian Peterson and Tavaris Jackson seems to have found himself? What about the Giants or the Packers again? I'm not preaching doom and gloom yet. But this defense needs to step up if the Cowboys want to do what they said they want to do. Their goal isn't the NFC East title they clinched yesterday. It's the Super Bowl.
This win falls in the same line as the Buffalo game: A game they should have lost, but won anyway.
Glass half full? This team has guts and never says die.
Glass half empty? This defense is a sieve and will inevitably keep this team from it's goals.
Which one is it?

The Man in the Mirror

Last night's game was really interesting. I've for years really disliked to Ravens. I don't have any real reason personally to dislike them, but I do. Perhaps it's the fact that I think Brian Billick is the most over rated coach in the NFL. He lucked into Randy Moss and Robert Smith when he was with the Vikings and became known as an offensive genius. Then he lucked into a dominant defense which carried the Genuis' pathetic offense into a Super Bowl ring. Add to that Ray Lewis getting away with murder, Jamal Lewis being busted as a drug dealer, that they were moved by a sorry owner from Cleveland and you have in my opinion a dislikeable franchise.
Last night, however, as the adversary of the Patriots on Monday Night Football, the Ravens because the carriers of all things good and righteous against the evil Hoodies. And for three and half quarters, they were what we all hoped for. And with Don Shula in the MNF broadcast booth, clearly rooting for them, I thought they had a chance. By now, you know what happened. Trailing 24-20 with 4 minutes left in the game, Tom Brady led the Patriots down the field to the winning touchdown and the Pats are now 4 games from 16-0. The Ravens would have you believe that their righteous victory was stolen from them by the evil refs in dark conspiracy perpetrated by the highest of puppet masters in the NFL offices in New York. Don't you believe it. Really, they should just look in the mirror, coaches and players. Here are a list of reasons the Ravens lost last night starting with the least egregious.

1. A still inept offense. Brian Billick has been at Baltimore for nine years and the Ravens have consistently been below average on offense. In the 4th quarter, Baltimore had three possessions while ahead and each time went three and out. Until the last desperation drive, Kyle Bolar was 2-5 for 10 yards and a pick. Willis McGahee ran 5 times for 5 yards. At the time when they needed to run the clock and pick up first downs (in that order), they completely failed.

2. Bad defensive coaching on the Patriots last drive. From what I hear the Ravens defensive coaching had as good a game plan for most of the game, bringing pressure from different places, well run disguised blitzed. Until the end that is. I wish I could go back and watch that last drive because it seemed every time Brady was able to get yardage passing was when the Ravens rushed only three. With the talented receivers that Brady has, you can't give him time to sit back there and wait for someone to come open and that's exactly what happened. Everyone wants to complain about the timeout, but the Ravens let Tom Brady run for twelve yards and a first down after the timeout. As expected the Ravens only rushed three and left the right side of the offense wide open. Brady's not Vince Young. Unless there's a wide open space, he's not gonna run. It was not a good defensive performance there.

3. Undisciplined players. The real problem with the Ravens were players who went off the deep end after the touchdown. I understand that it was an emotional game and there were a number of times when they thought they had to game won only to have that not be the case because of factors not always under their control. The fact of the matter is there has been infighting on this team for most of the year. Even as one who doesn't pay close attention living in another city, I can tell there are problems. It all culminated last night with the penalties after the touchdown and the comments after the game. When the Patriots scored the touch down there was 44 seconds left in the game. A long time? No. But there was a possibility of a long return on the kickoff or some other unforeseen circumstance. Instead, the Ravens lost 35 yards in penalties, mostly by Bart Scott's 2 unsportsmanlike conduct fouls. When the Ravens cry about loosing this game, they can only blame themselves. Not that I care about the direction of this team, but the Billick needs to go. He has presided over the deterioration of all discipline and ability to play like a team.

So, what does all this mean...?

So, when two undefeated teams meet and one demolishes the other, what exactly does that mean... especially to the person who considers them his two favorite teams? Here is what I got out of Cowboys-Patriots game on Sunday:

1. I don't care about the records of the teams they have played, the Patriots and the Colts are the best two teams in the league. (And once they play each other in a few weeks, we'll know who is the best - More in a minute). Of course this is only right now. If these two teams (Pats and Cowboys) were to meet in a game... I don't know.. sometime in late January, would the outcome be the same? Hard to say, but right now, there is not a team that is as solid as the Patriots.

2. The Cowboys, despite a couple shaky games, are still one of, if not the best team in the NFC. I'm not sure if that's the same as saying that someone has a really nice personality, but they are a good team if they are playing a team that is not so balanced in run/pass offense. And that is really the problem with them this year. The Bills ran effectly, and the passing game complemented that. The Patriots do both extremely well, and we saw that outcome. So, this Minnesota team (which can run like crazy, but doesn't pass well at all), should be an opportunity to rebound.

3. Patrick Crayton is a moron. Don't get me wrong, I think he is a very serviceable receiver, but when you just get whipped by 21 points (even if the last 7 were just rubbing it in), you cannot talk about how you are not impressed by the opposing defense. Yes, Crayton you did score a touchdown, and your 46 yards were very impressive, but when a team shuts down your top receivers (that would be Owens and Witten - just in case), you should really just be happy with your TD and shut your mouth.

4. Tony Romo had an off week against the Bills. Other than one really ill-advised throw which was picked by Seau, he responded pretty well, and even fought back to get the lead until New England steamrolled.

5. Where is the TO who would talk (and don't mistake it. Writing a note that ends with "Get your popcorn ready" is indeed talking) and then back it up? I'm still waiting for he and Romo to get on the same page and go crazy. And man... I miss having Terry Glenn on the other side. How would that have changed yesterday? SIDE NOTE: Can we stop referring to him as TO Owens? I've heard several people do this now, and it drives me up the wall. What do people think the O in TO if for?

6. I am dying for both the Colts and Patriots to be undefeated when they play each other November 4th. Undefeated teams playing each other is awesome. This was a great game until the fourth quarter implosion. This could easily happen with the major roadblock being the Jaguars to the Colts, and the trap game of Miami to the Pats.

So, what does this all mean to me? Well, I'm happy that the Patriots have proven themselves, and I'm happy that the Cowboys are experiencing these bumps now, rather than later this year. I still have high hopes of this team, and think they can make it far in the playoffs. I think they are still the best in the NFC, and would rather they lose this non-conference game than others in the future.