A History Making Blog

Todays edition of this blog started out great.  I was writing at home. The words were just piling up and the other bloggers couldn’t keep up with me.  It looked like I had an insurmountable lead.  I had never written better.  I was scoring points with great ideas and awesome turns of phrase.

I wasn’t letting the other bloggers score any points as I shut them down with ease, everything they tried I outwitted them with style and grace.  If there was a “mercy rule” for blogging the writing would have been stopped halfway through this blog.

Then I took a short break, got a drink, listened to my blog coaches, devised a magnificent plan for the last of the blog.  Came back to finish this blog off and ride off into the sunset victorious with my fans cheering and telling me how great I was.

Then I goofed.  I threw in a poorly worded phrase.  Oh well I thought, that one phrase won’t hurt me even if the other bloggers capitalize on my mistake.

Amazingly my concentration must have faltered at that point because the very next paragraph I did the same exact thing.  With the same results, the other bloggers scored off my mistake.

Undaunted I wrote on, I still had a huge lead over the lowly bloggers chasing me, they haven’t been good in years I told myself.  My blog coach told me to keep throwing wild phrases out there.  So I did.  Sadly I slipped up again.  Mistakes seemed to be catching up to me at every turn.

Then the other bloggers started writing better than me.  They couldn’t be stopped it seemed.  One in particular appeared to be almost Superman-like in his ability to just grab phrases out of mid-air and nothing I did could keep him from it.

Before you knew it my huge lead in the blogging contest was gone, I was so stunned I couldn’t think straight.  Nothing I tried worked anymore and the other bloggers pressured me into even more bad writing.

I had one last chance to redeem myself, time was running out.  By this point though all my supporting bloggers also seemed to be bewildered.  My last gasp at writing the perfect ending to a superb blog came crashing to halt as I caught a phrase in my mind and then unexpectedly I just turned off the computer without trying to write it down.

I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years.  Well, that’s not totally true…I may have seen something eerily similar just today in fact as I watched the Heroes of My Youth.  later Poke

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

A Practice Post

I am so ready for football to start that I was going to write a long, well crafted, finely detailed post about how the Boys looked last night at the Crystal Cathedral against the Chargers.

I was going to go into great detail about how it looked like our offense is going to need to be heavy on the run game and the short, quick passing game because the offensive line doesn’t seem like it’s going to be able to give Romo much time to throw many deep balls.

I was the going to draw X’s and O’s all over this blog to explain how dazed and confused our Defense looked every time the Chargers threw one of those short passes to an area that had been cleared out and they picked up an easy first down.

I was so ready to write that post.

Then I thought about it.  I am not the biggest, most well informed, smartest Cowboy fan in the world, BUT I do keep up with them on a daily basis.  I have looked at the roster so I am familiar with who is in training camp, who is injured, who has already been cut, who has been added.  I have more than a fleeting interest in The Good Guys.

So at the game last night as I am seeing the not-so-great results of blocking and defending and catching, my first thought was to react like it was a real football game.  You know, moan and worry and cuss the coaches and bad mouth the players.

Then it hit me.  Half the time I didn’t even know WHO the player was that I was griping about.  1/3 of those guys won’t be anywhere near Cowboys Stadium when the regular season starts.

This game was for the coaches to try stuff, get film on guys so they can evaluate their performance, move the pieces around and try to make the puzzle complete.  See what works, who does what better than the other guy. 

So, if you are fretting or foaming at the mouth today over the performance last night, try to remember…its PRESEASON.

I’m not saying you can’t or shouldn’t be a little worried.  I am.

but I could be wrong, later Poke

Procrastinate

Definition of PROCRASTINATE

transitive verb

: to put off intentionally and habitually

intransitive verb

: to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done

That’s what I have been doing with this Blog.

I didn’t want to write while the Lockout was going on, no sense subjecting ya’ll to whatever my thoughts are on labor-management issues.  Chances are we wouldn’t have agreed and since I only get paid if I have a million or two readers I couldn’t risk losing all that big money.

Plus, I hate preseason football.  I can’t seem to let my hatred for having to buy preseason tickets at full price NOT cloud my thinking and since I know that I purposely don’t spend much time writing about what is or isn’t happening with the Boys.

I am getting excited about the upcoming season though.  Sure I wish Mr. Jones would have gotten a few more players, especially some proven vets to shore up the O-line and the D-secondary but hey I am also smart enough to know you can’t just go buy the best team.(unless you are the NY Yankees in baseball )

Right now oddly enough I am more worried about our kicker than anything else, neither of them has been consistent during Camp and we all saw how that hurts when you don’t get at least 3 points when you get in close.

It will be interesting to see what cuts are made and who starts but to me it seems like this year the Heroes of Our Youth are going to rely on coaching and culture changes to be the difference between this years team and last years.

We will see if that pans out, until next time, later Poke

Just Wait Till Next Year !!!

I knew at some point I had to finish out this seasons blog.  I just didn’t have a clue what to say or not say.  Still don’t really. 

How does a team so highly thought of end up where the Boys did this year?  How do you fall so quickly and completely from the top of the NFL to 6-10 and waiting for the draft?  What the heck happened ?

Thousands of words have already been written, spoken and rehashed over all the reasons.  Who knows for sure what the correct answer is.

The easy answer seems to be that Wade wasn’t a good coach.  I don’t buy that.  How does a defensive guru lose his guru-ness ?

The next most popular theory is that Jerry Jones messes up the whole karma of the football gods by meddling with hiring coaches or not letting the coaches do what they want with the players or by having a bad facelift. 

My theory has been that the players just didn’t take their jobs seriously.  They didn’t get themselves ready to play, study enough film or work on the little things that make the difference between winners and losers.

There is also the thought that the ball just didn’t bounce the right way this year for the Heroes of the Blue Star.  Balls bounced off our guys hands, and even the feet of our guys this year.  Starting QB’s got hurt when rookie fullbacks missed blocks, kickers missed kicks that usually are thought of as chip shots.  One of those years.

Players got older.  Knees that have been rebuilt don’t work forever and our O-line suffered for it.  (for that matter so did Romo).

Self indulgent players celebrated and got penalized even when something good did happen and all of a sudden fans, coaches and players all seemed to know that no matter what happened or how good a play went this years team would find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  The other shoe dropped so many times it sounded like troops marching.

So I guess all of the above is the correct answer for this year. 

Changes have been made and more are coming.  Jason Garrett is the new coach.  I wouldn’t have made that choice even though he was the plan all along.  He has to bear some of the blame for the horrible start this year but he also gets some of the credit for the nice showing for the last 8 games.  I am okay with him being the coach next year.  I liked him when he played here and he definitely has a plan for what he wants from a team.  The team seems to respond well to his direction.  We will see.

So there you go, move ahead, don’t look back (something may be gaining on you).

later, Poke

Still Not Convinced

that Garrett is the coach the Good Guys need.  that is all I have to say.

later,Poke

Thanksgiving Day Photos

 

It seems like most Thanksgiving Day games bring cold weather.  It started cloudy , had some small sleet, wind blew a gajillion MPH.

Luckily our canopy wall blocked the North wind.  The food (steaks, potato casserole, turkey, cajun dressing ) was all good but before you could eat it, it got cold.

Santa was a Saints fan but I do like the fedora on the Cowboy fan.

You can feel the heat from those all the way across the field.

Funny sign but it didn’t help.

Tashard just before he scored the go ahead touchdown, before our hearts were ripped out by the Roy11 fumble and subsequent collapse of our defense.

Happy Holidays from us to you.