Radio Free Texas

Friday, October 31, 2008

too much talk

okay so its hard for a blogger to admit.
there is too much Cowboys talk going on.
that wont keep me from expounding even more on the Boys but
i have to at least point it out.
the local radio idiots have been having a field day.
espn has not missed a chance to build up our guys, then
spend an equal or greater amount of time tearing them down.
remember this was a team that was going to the Super Bowl
not that long ago.
but heres the deal...this isnt fantasy football, where stats
count as scores, where you can just add or subtract players
depending on how you feel.
this isnt madden 09, where anything you can dream up actually works
on the gridiron.
nope its football. where players have to show up ready to play.
where star players get hurt and sit out weeks at a time.
where role players either step up or you have glaring holes where once
you had stability.
the message boards are full of suggestions, comments, plans and bold
declarations that the posters know how to fix all the Good Guys woes.
everybody thinks they are a coach.
at the Tabernacle last week the geniuses behind me werent fans. they were critics.
every move, play, bad throw or coaching decision was met with derision.
they were almost gleeful in their putting down of men who have spent their lives
doing....what these numbskulls behind me wish they were doing.
making a living playing or coaching football.
i understand the enjoyment of "talking football". all the what ifs and whys.
we have moved way beyond that point.
all these commissioners of fantasy land football actually believe they know better
than guys who spend hours, days weeks, months...their whole lives studying football.
gimme a break.
theres a reason the real coaches and players are down there and you and me are
sitting up there in section 34.
its hard to admit but go ahead. it will make you feel better. they are better than
we were !! see....i bet you already feel better.
now look..i like certain players more than other ones BUT...that doesnt mean i am
a better football player than say... bobby carpenter. sure he has been
a disappointment but be honest with yourself, look around the stadium, do you really
think you or the guy sitting next to you would give us a better chance to stop
Warrick Dunn on 3rd and 7 ??
what i would like to see is more fans, less coaches.
could be its just me or maybe a lot of you are just nuts.
oh yeah....im still thinking the Boys go to NY and kick some Giants butts.
i dont know how they are gonna do it, in fantasy land im sure it looks impossible.
but hey thats my team and i count on them doing the impossible.
later Poke

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

real problems....no real answers

4 and stinking 3.
i never would have thought thats where the Boys would be at this point.
i thought our O-line was better than that.
thought our defense was WAY better than that.
this team does have real problems.
special teams is another real problem.
then throw in the perception that the team has no identity or mental toughness.
our record indicates those are all valid, REAL problems.
but i havent seen any real solutions.
i dont think firing Wade is the answer. do you really want to throw it all out the window midseason ? i dont.
you cant really fire players and expect to just go get better ones.
so what can we do ?
you just have to hope that the re-evaluation Wade says they are doing turns up something that can have positive effects.
you have to hope the players look inside themselves and decide THEY ARE going to play better.
you might release a player if you think " a message " needs sending.
you might fire a special teams coach to open some eyes on the coaching staff.
you might demote a player or two to let these guys know they have to earn their spots.
you might stiffen some penalties for players who keep making the same mistakes over
and over again.
you might even throw a kicking, screaming, spit flying tirade.
but you dont lay down and quit. not now. not ever.
you dont blow the whole thing up.
not at this point in the season. NOT YET.
so instead of going off half cocked, put some thought into what you CAN DO...then
DO IT !!!
later Poke

Sunday, October 19, 2008

dealing with grief

what can i say ?? i am so disappointed.
i knew the Boys had a huge task today.
all the injuries, suspensions, and general unease about the
desire and motivation of our team made todays game very lose-able.
i can deal with losing.
i cant deal with losing all the ways we lost today.
losing games is one thing but losing hope of being a good team hurts too much.
so i will continue to believe that the Boys can be good.
i will continue to believe that the offense will remember how to block, throw, catch
and score points.
i will continue to believe that the defense will figure out how to stop the run,
get some pressure and defend long passes.
i will continue to believe that the special teams can be special in a positive sense
because we have seen they can be special in a negative one.
i will continue to believe that our coaches will learn how to motivate and teach these guys how to play the game with desire and discipline.
we are only 7 games into a 16 game season, still time to get it right.
i am way beyond the throwing things stage of fanhood i have inhabited.
some of you may not be so i offer some wise advice on my way outta here.

There is no right or wrong way to grieve. All your feelings are normal. It is helpful, however, to know that human grief is a process that often follows a healing pattern.

Shock is the first stage. It is accompanied by disbelief and numbness and a mistaken thought that the Boys were better than they really are.

Denial follows quickly, crying "I don't believe it," or "It can't be."

Bargaining is your promise that "I'll be so very good that maybe I can wake up and find that it isn't so. I'll do all the right things if only....", wearing your jersey every day of the week isnt gonna make the team win these kind of games...i have proven that to myself.

Guilt is painful and hard to deal with. This is when one says over and over, "If only I had..." or "If only I had not..." This is a normal feeling and ultimately it may be solved by stating, "I'm a human being and I gave the best and worst of me to the Cowboys and what they do with that is their responsibility.

Anger is another big factor which seems to be necessary in order to face the reality of life and then to get beyond it. We must all heal in our own ways. Anger is a natural stage through which we must pass. I will
add that throwing things or kicking them doesnt really help in the long run.

Depression is a stage of grief that comes and goes. Knowing this, be prepared to give yourself time to heal. Resignation is a late stage. It comes when finally you accept the truth.

Acceptance and hope! Understand that the Good Guys wont be 16-0 but your life can go on to find meaning and purpose.

i do want to say that i got this info from dealing with much more serious matters than a football game and i dont want anyone to think i am making fun of those matters. i am however making fun a little of how serious we take our football, but just a little cuz i really am disappointed and madder than i should be.

later Poke

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

addition by subtraction

so i dont have any inside info.
BUT....the lack of players screaming how much they are
gonna miss Adam Jones leads me to think that maybe he
wasnt that beloved by most of his teammates and that
just maybe the Boys will be better of without him.
do not take this wrong.
i was glad JJ signed him. i had hoped he would light it up.
he hasnt yet but i felt like he would get better.
he still might. but for at least 4 weeks it dont matter.
my feeling is that the Good Guys will rise to the occasion.
the rookies will grow up in a hurry.
now the loss of Romo is a whole nother story.
no way do i think losing him helps us.
having said that i am actually glad we have the old guy Brad Johnson.
his experience is what we need now.
sure it would be great to have a second string QB that could start for another team.
not many teams are that lucky.
so lets just see what happens this week.
heck we went from having no roy williams playing to having 2 !!
so before you write them off, give it a chance.
later Poke

Monday, October 13, 2008

dontcha just love football ??????

yep the Cards beat the Cowboys and the Cowboys beat the Cowboys.
now its time for the messageboard coaches to beat the Cowboys.
ESPN will certainly be Beating the Cowboys all week.
i will just be waiting til next week to see how we do against the Rams.
this is the NFL, they play every week. not a lotta time to wail and moan
and beat up on your team cuz hey you gotta get ready to go again.
i have been watching football a long time ( and so have most of you cuz
my demographic study commission tells me i dont draw the young crowd...guess
that comment i made in Blog # 267 about only liking 2 rap songs scared the younguns
away ).
anyway its been a while since i saw a game like that. KO returns, fumbles (even if they were ruled "tucks", sacks, big plays, little plays, good plays, bad plays,
no plays ( think time-out on blocked field goal) and "walk off, blocked punts".
you baseball fans will recognize that language. who has have ever heard of a "walk off blocked punt "?
but back to the point. I know it stinks that the Good Guys lost, its killing me.
and it was painful to watch as the greatness that was supposed to be the Cowboy machine got peeled away and exposed.
but you gotta admit its better than Reality TV. drama, suspense, intrigue, COMEDY !!
that game had it all !! heck maybe even conspiracy (if you are a Cards fan I know
you had to be thinking the refs had it in for your team).
so just chill out, The Boys of the Blue Star can still redeem themselves.
Look on the Bright Side.
for 3 1/2 hours we didnt have to think about politics, stock markets or bailouts.
later Poke

newsflash: romo out with broken finger for 4 weeks, it happens to teams every year,
all we can do now is count on Brad Johnson to step in and step up. that too is part
of football. who needs reality tv ??

Saturday, October 11, 2008

who knows ?

sometimes i start this blog knowing what im gonna say, sometimes i dont.
this is one of those times.
i hate playing the cardinals.
i never know how the Boys are gonna do against them.
historically the Boys have done good.
BUT....every time i let myself think "ok its the cards..we oughta win"
the Good Guys play like crap and the cards play lights out and a L shows
up in the W/L column.
throw in the fact that Newman is out, Adam Jones has been a bit distracted,
and Kurt Warner is the QB and i gotta tell you I am a bit worried.
The quick drops wont allow us to get much pressure and that scares me a bit.
i am looking for this to be a high scoring game.
im hoping the O can light it up early and give the D some room to work with.
its been a weird week everywhere, stock market troubles, politics, the pacman incident,
people on message boards griping about the Boys, Wade Phillips, it has me more than
a little worried.
after all this is Halloween month.
later Poke

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

my oh my

well good job to the Good Guys !
got yourselves a W, moved up to 4-1.
good start to a season i would say.
wasnt the prettiest game but then most of the time
they arent in the real world.
i know i know in Madden the Boys would have creamed the bungles.
there would have been no fumbles. no interceptions, nothing to mar the perfection
that is electronic football.
im not sure whats worse, Madden or Fantasy Football.
creates too many fans who dont seem to get what football is.
those 11 real human people on the other side really are trying to stop you.
they aint there just to add symmetry.
this interweb-net thing has given voice to some folks who think their team should
never give up any points.
and way too many folks think this is Oklahoma versus North Texas and the offense should " hang a half a hundred " every week. ( sorry Mean Green fans..nothing personal)
everybody is so intent on "not being a homer" they critique every lil thing.
ive read people griping about how the Cowboys players responded to post game interviews......gimme a break.
how would you like it if after a hard day at work, where you accomplished your goal
(winning the game is the goal by the way) some half baked writer who couldnt do your job started bad mouthing or downplaying your accomplishment ??
i know you guys...you folks of the chicken fried nation..you would tell that wimp
where to put his keyboard..heck you would even offer to put it there for him.
so everybody just take a deep breath, hey its cooling off here in Texas enjoy it,
chalk up the win and start thinking about the good things in life...like being 4-1.
later Poke

Friday, October 03, 2008

this ones important TOO !

i sure hope our Boys realize that this one counts just as much as
last weeks game and just as much as next weeks game too.
lotta hoopla this week about TO being mad or not, lotta talk
about poor coaching, bad tackling, poor coverage and no pressure
from last weeks game. ya gotta know...THAT WAS LAST WEEK !!
put all that outta your head, get your mind wrapped around the
Bengals. they actually pay their players too.
we got our second string safety hurt, ole Killa Davis is gonna have
to step up and play some D for us. The corners need to pick up their
game a bit to compensate.
its all too easy to get caught up in what we shudda done last week instead
of planning what we need to do THIS week.
im afraid i sense a way too casual attitude about playing the Bengals.
i know the fans dont seem to excited about the game because i have been watching
ticket prices fall all week. unreal, your team is 3-1 and people cant get excited ??
all i know is i am not taking the bungles for granted so dont blame me if things
go bad !
i expect our guys to come out and play hard, and i expect them to score A LOT. !
what im not so sure of is whether our D is gonna get off the field after 3 downs.
and i am really counting on that D to shut out Chad 85.
so local fans, scrape up your pennies, get on ebay and buy them cheap tickets.
i might gag if i see a lotta jungle stripes at the Tabernacle !
later Poke