A Glimpse Inside a Troubled Mind

I have a rule about my blog posts.  I usually won’t write one until 24 hours have passed because I really don’t want everybody to see how fickle and faint hearted this long time, true blue, Cowboys fan can be.  It’s a good rule.

Rules are however made to be broken so I jotted down quick notes during the game.  Actually I put them in my notes section of my phone.  It seemed to help calm my nerves during this game although I will probably not do it again because it would be a shame to throw a perfectly good phone through a perfectly good TV set and it came perilously close to that on more than one occasion tonight.

So, my in game thoughts are written first and then after the game I added calmer thoughts.  Those are in parentheses.  Oh yeah I might have cleaned up some spelling but NO I don’t really worry too much about punctuation and whatnot.  Remember what I said earlier about rules ?  So here ya go, enjoy, be kind to those who share their innermost thoughts with you.

No consistent run game (thank you Felix for cranking it up late in game)
No wide receiver that can get open ( Dez did on that last drive)
Wide receivers that fumble (Ogletree did not make my list of favorite Cowboys during this game)
Run worst running back on 3rd and 1. ( Fiammetta in case you’re not sure because I know a lot of people would think Choice.)
No pass rush ( the longer the game went on the better our rush got)
conservative play calling due to wide receiver inexperience
Opposing kickers never miss ( not long after this Washington had the dropped snap )
First 3rd down pickup came in 3qtr? ( heard announcers say this, never sure if they know what they are talking about)
On td drive after interception in 3rd  quarter defense looked vanilla except vanilla would be more solid ( so by now I am getting mad and discouraged)
Still no pass rush  (we really weren't at this point, even Grossman was looking like a good NFL QB and we all know that’s not the case)
Ogletree is a good 3rd receiver sadly he was starting and trying to fill role of a #1 cuz Dez was just being used as a decoy ( my opinion only I have no idea if that’s what the Boys were doing or if he was just not open or if Romo didn’t have time to throw to him after chasing down errant snaps from Costa.
Costa is said to have short arms he also must have ridden the short bus ( ok that’s just me being mean…but really 4 early snaps ?)
I've been opposed to 4 preseason games but now I think they should play 8 so the boys can learn their jobs and their teammates names (at this point I am trying to humor myself because I am afraid our end is near and I really hate how I am going to feel if The Good Guys lose this game)
Too many penalties ( and not enough called on Redskins)
Stupid play calling in red zone ( I am sticking with this thought even though I also realize it doesn’t matter what play is called if the receivers don’t know what to do, maybe give Tony a dry erase board and let him diagram where they go before every play ? )
How do u not call holding when their offensive lineman shoestring tackles Ware ?  ( still bewildered by that non call)
Good job Felix  ( he was running strong late in the game and I should add good job O-line and fullback too)
Good job Tony on dropping back 20 yards to give Dez time to work himself open.  ( sad he has to do it that way)
Good job Dez who I think was more hurt than we know
Does every game have to come down to a kicker ?? (after seeing the graphic on TV that’s said 9th consecutive game decided by 3 points or less I guess it does…I can live with it as long as the Heroes win !)

Good job Heroes of My Wasted Youth, a win is a win and especially when so many good players are hurt .  later Poke

That’s Life In The NFL

Wow, what a game.  I griped and complained the whole time.  From the poor offensive showing to the weak secondary play to the missing of chip shot field goals and even about the stupid announcers.

Fear set in about the time Kitna threw that second interception and all I could see was another poor start to this season just like last years.  I admit it, these guys have me spooked.  I no longer am able to watch a game and thing “ they got this.”  Too many times last year they tricked me, no way I’m falling for this again.

Until.  Somebody flipped a switch, the defense started getting off the field after 3 downs.  Romo went into the phone booth and came out in his Superman suit.  Miles Austin showed us why Jerry gave him that big contract. 

Slowly but surely they sucked me back in.  A week after dying seeing the Jets win I was back to thinking, if this happens, and then if that happens, and then if we can just….and amazingly it all did.

The Good Guys were hurt, shorthanded, playing out of town, behind in the 4th quarter only a week after blowing a 4th quarter lead.  Yet I fell hook,line and sinker for their chances to win.

I knew somehow it had to come down to the rookie kicker after he missed that first kick.  When he made the 48 yarder I started thinking that maybe he had found his groove but knowing that usually Cowboy kickers blow it.

I think they won it when the 49’ers won the toss for OT because that put the Cowboy defense on the field and they got the stop. 

I can’t blame the 49er safety for biting on that play fake cuz I figured that’s exactly what we would do.  Run the ball, get a little more room to operate, try to work our way down and then suffer through a nerve wracking field goal attempt.

More magic.  Jesse Holley, the guy from a reality show gets behind everybody and Tony(bless his heart) Romo nailed him with a perfect pass.  Of course the way Holley was holding the ball had me waiting for something bad to happen.  Him getting tackled was the least of my worries.  I just didn’t want the ball to slip, or bounce off his knee, or somehow fly straight up into the air to be snatched up by an evil 49er.  I was almost relieved when he just got tackled close to the goal line.  Lately those kind of plays havent been ending good for the Boys of the Blue Star Commune.

Luckily more excitement was still to come because who knew what Garrett was going to try.  The ball was on the 1 yard line, maybe he thought another double-triple wide receiver reverse screen toss, pitch, stumble would be just the thing to fool the 49ers.

A field goal.  By our rookie kicker. Its up. Its good.  Breathe now.

I love football, even when its killing me.  later Poke 

Calmer now

Maybe there should be a rule that says fans cant put stuff on the world wide internet bookface until at least 36 hours after a game their team plays.

Look at all the bandspace that could have been saved just by eliminating all the…cut Romo, Romo is a bum, Romo=Oh NO, diatribes.

I will be the first to admit it killed me seeing the fumble and the interception. Just killed me.  I also admit I too have those moments where I question whether this team can get to where WE want them to be.

BUT, I gotta admit I liked a lot, actually most, of what I saw Sunday night.  I am not claiming a moral victory here or nothing like that.  The Good Guys had it won and then dropped, threw and kicked it away.  They have got to learn how to finish the game.

Be honest though.  Did you really expect our guys to come out and look as good as they did ?  Touchdown on first drive,  attacking defense for most of the game good ??

I sure didn’t.  I said before my confidence was wavering and to my surprise the Boys actually were in this game and taking the Jets to the woodshed.

Then of course all the things that can happen did.  Injuries, penalties, mistakes.  At one point I actually had to count on my hand to figure out what string one of our cornerbacks was on the depth chart.  Luckily I still have all my fingers cuz it was a 5th string guy.

After the adrenaline stopped flowing, after cussing and discussing the failure of Tony, after asking why Witten didn’t appear to make more of an effort to actually fall into the end zone and not go out of bounds, after the disbelief of seeing the punt blocked I came to a realization.  I got to watch the team I love play a heckuva football game, against a good opponent, on the road, in an emotionally charged situation.  I am so glad football is back.

Remember, what happened last week is not as important as what happens this week in the NFL.  How our guys come out and play after that loss will tell me more about what this team might do this year than that lost game will.  As the man said, a wild ride is usually best !

later,Poke

The Ultimate Homer Is Having a Weak Moment

I am a “homer”.  I always think the team I support is going to win.  This makes me a terrible gambler because I tend to bet with my heart and not my head.

Usually when the first game of the season rolls around I am overflowing with confidence and hoping for a home playoff game.

Not so much this year.  It’s killing me to write that down but I am trying to be honest.

A 6-10 team from last year, no BIG name players acquired in the off season, the LACK of an off season, injuries to players, these are all reasons to waver a bit.

There have been changes. Veterans have been replaced with young guys, non productive players replaced with new players who have their chance to show if they will BE productive.  Those are good things, BUT they may not show immediate results.  I understand it, I have seen it before.  I remember people wanting Landry fired until he got his system and his players in place,  the same with Jimmy Johnson and the disastrous 1-15 season.

An offensive line with 2, possibly 3 rookies playing,  a wide receiver corp with 2 stars and then who knows,  a defensive line that hasn’t shown me they have learned the new defense, a linebacking crew that may or may not have the physical ability to do what Rob Ryan intends for them to do, and then of course our defensive backfield.  The often burned, finger pointing bunch who haven’t inspired confidence since 2009.

Rob Ryan, sure he has a good resume, has posted some good results, says a lot of confident sound bites.  Gonna have to wait before I decide on him.  I am afraid I have a tendency to NOT like him but most of that comes from not liking his Daddy, so I will wait and see what he puts out there before I judge him too harshly.

Oh yeah, did I mention our kicker(S) ?  Notice how that’s plural.  As in , if you have 2 kickers you don’t really have 1 good one .  I love Buehler, going down and tackling, hitting people and all that good stuff.  Can this team really afford to use a roster spot to keep another guy around to kick field goals because they don’t have confidence in Buehler to do it ?  Plus the second kicker hit a rough patch during preseason and couldn’t hit the side of a barn.

So there you have it, plenty of reasons to worry.  Legitimate reasons I think, not gloom and doom stuff. 

So where does that leave me ?  Predicting season records before the first game has been played is not something I put much stock in but a lot of people ask so here goes nothing.

9-7.  I expect the Good Guys to play hard and do much better on penalties than in the past.  I expect them to be IN every game and not show us any more efforts like the one in Green Bay last year.

I also expect some growing pains as they get a handle on what kind of team they are going to be.  It won’t always be pretty, or give us the immediate desired result.  It should be fun though.

I could be wrong.  Every year a team rises from the ashes and makes a stronger showing than anybody expected.  Games can be decided by the smallest changes.  Good luck usually follows good preparation and Jason Garrett will hopefully have them prepared.

Hang on tight cuz it’s gonna be a wild ride this year !

later,Poke