Too Soon

So yeah the topic around the water cooler at work is about the Cowboys, it has to be right ?  First place in their division and Thanksgiving has come and gone.  What else would we be talking about ? Christmas ? Travel plans ? Politics ? Nope, just the important stuff. 

Pay attention and see if the fullback Chapas that got brought up from the practice squad makes a difference in the run game this week.  When Fiammetta went out the stats went down for DeMarco Murray.  The tight end Phillips is a good blocker BUT, it only makes sense that a guy who has spent his whole life running through holes and making blocks would be better at it than a guy who has spent his football playing life making blocks only while trying to get himself open to catch a pass.  The size issue also has to be a part of it. 

Playoffs ?? You’re talking Playoffs ?? ( cue Jim Mora)

Too soon to start penciling in all the different scenarios for me.  My rule of thumb is if I need a computer to figure out who MIGHT play who if Team A beats Team C and Team D loses to Team G then its TOO SOON.  Some people love doing that stuff and that’s okay, more power to them.  As for me I will wait until there are just a couple different possibilities THEN I will start over-worrying about those.

For now I only have enough energy to worry about beating the pesky Cardinals.  I know they have a horrible record.  I know there will be tons of Cowboys fans at the game in Arizona.

I also know that any team can beat any team so I have to hope that Jason Garrett makes sure his team is ready to play.  It might help if a couple of the injured players get to come back.

I also feel a need to post it here that the Cowboys SHOULD NOT PUNT THE BALL TO PATRICK PETERSON.  In case Jerry and Jason read this blog now they will have NO EXCUSE if they do.  On a more serious note I worry about Mat McBriar and his nerve problem in his leg.  I hope that works out for him and not just to benefit the Good Guys. 

The Heroes of Our Youth have put themselves in a good position, now they have to finish the job and keep winning ! later Poke

2 For The Price Of One Blog Sale

To honor the holiday shopping season I offer a two-fer.  This edition of this tired old blog will cover not one but two games.  Both victorious at that !  What a bargain and you didn’t have to camp out in front of any store.  You’re welcome.

First the game against the deadskins.  I was both amazed and ecstatic that their kicker missed 2 !! field goal attempts.  It seems like that never happens against the Boys.  I was afraid it would turn into the kind of game that it was.  The games against them always do.  Romo and Robinson seemed like they were looking at different game plans most of the day.  Thank goodness Jason Witten found that second gear he seemed to have misplaced for so long.  That was a sweet touchdown, especially considering that was DeAngelo Hall chasing him.

Second, the Turkey day game against the Dolphins.  I needed the Heroes to win this one.  I still had a bad taste from the last time they played us on Thanksgiving Day and beat us 40-21.  To make things worse a stupid Dolphin fan started crawling around under my seat after the game so he could grab those plastic souvenir cups and he got mouthy when I told him to get the heck away from my stuff.

This was truly a game to be thankful for, even before the game even started.  We had 11 of our family at this one and had the best tailgate ever.  Shrimp gumbo, home made beer, good music playing, plenty of room for everybody and beautiful weather.  Not to mention that one of the 11 was our 2 month old granddaughter so it was heaven on earth.

 

As for the game itself I was confident but not very comfortable about our Good Guys.  I was afraid they would be a little flat, or tired and to be honest I don’t think we saw their best game.  They did give their best effort though and the crowd was very loud and it seemed to help them pick it up a bit.

When the defense finally made that stop with about 3 minutes left I started thinking we had a shot at winning that game.  When DeMarco kept ripping off the good runs I felt even better !   To be totally honest though I didn’t feel positive until the kick went through, I looked and didn’t see any penalty flags and then looked and saw the clock at 0:00.  Then and ony then did I resume actual breathing.

The Thanksgiving weekend kind of forced me to move on and so I haven’t spent much time thinking and doing my mental analysis of the game.  I promise the serious,in depth, analytical break down of all the X’s and O’s will be resumed after the 10 day break.  Or maybe not because as long as they keep winning who the HECK CARES HOW?

hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving, later Poke

Shock And Awe

My 24 hour rule got waylaid this week by the fact I have been in shock for the last 72 hours.

I didn’t see that coming.  44-7 against a team that was 5-3 and seemed to be one of the better AFC teams.  I may be a Cowboys homer but I never dreamed the Good Guys would put a whoopin like that on the Bills !

To satisfy those who need a critique, we did allow their running back to gain over 100 yards, of course about half of that was when the score was out of hand and we were not overly concerned about the run game beating us.

It was nice getting the lead and then running the clock out by running the ball Effectively !  That’s exactly how the Heroes of My Youth used to do it and also how the Triplets era team did it too.

So now that I have had 3 full days of bliss, I need to fire up my ulcer machine and start to worry about this weeks game.  Sure I know the redskins are 3-5.  I know they have a QB issue and a run game issue and a defensive issue.  I know all that.

I also know its Cowboys-redskins week.  Rip all the stats up and burn em.  Turn off the radio so the mediots telling us that the Boys should be 3 touchdown favorites are muted.  None of that matters this week.

One of Jason Garrett’s strong points is staying focused and tending to the task at hand.  He will need that trait this week to keep the Boy’s heads straight and hopefully convince the to come out and play with intensity again.

There’s a reason there is an old saying about…”any given Sunday”.  The reason is because it’s true !!!  Just because Team A beats Team C and Team C beats Team B, that doesn’t mean Team A gets a win against Team B.   Got it ?  I hope so cuz I think I nearly confused my ownself with all that logic and reasoning.

that did me in, need a nap, later Poke

Strange Day At The Stadium

We pretty much have a routine when we go to games at The Crystal Cathedral.  Try to get there before or right when the parking lots open 5 hours prior to game time.  That gives you plenty of time to set everything up, relax, cook, eat, relax, visit the neighbors, see what everybody is cooking, visit with people from out of town, and get ready to watch the Heroes beat whoever the opponent is that day.

This week started off weird and got weirder.  First thing was that tickets were going cheap,cheap, cheap, if they were selling at all.  I had 2 folks from out of town who couldn’t make the game and they both were going to send me their tickets to try and sell in the parking lot.  Normally I have 3 or 4 people ask me if I have any extra tickets.  This week NOBODY asked and everybody I asked couldn’t or didn’t want to go.  One of the guys whose tickets I had told me he didn’t care what they sold for, he just wanted a Cowboys fan to have them.  We walked through the lot 2 times trying to sell them with no luck, our neighbors made phone calls, all to no avail.

I sensed it was going to be different when for the first hour we were pretty much alone in the lot except for the guys with the customized Cowboys bus.  The tailgate spots go early but not this week, at 11am there were still empty spots for tailgating.  Crazy.

The parking lot crowd was more subdued than normal, even for a noon game.  No loud music, no “characters” dancing through the crowd, very laid back.

We finally talked to a lady who had just come to meet her nephew from out of town and tailgate with him and his buddies from New York.  She didn’t have tickets and said she couldn’t afford them being a widow.  Luckily the guy who had given me the tickets had already said to find someone who had a party pass and just let them have his tickets so my wife gave the lady the tickets.  She had never been inside the stadium so she was super happy.  That made it a better day, but I wasn’t expecting much once we got inside.

Inside you could see that it wasn’t going to be a full house.  I was amazed considering there was going to be inductions into the Ring Of Honor, with great players from the good old days. 

The game actually had the same feel as the parking lot, at least for the first half.  Lackadaisical seems to be the right word for both teams and the fans.  The halftime inductions got the crowds attention and the Boys made some headway and the crowd finally seemed to wake up a little bit.

After the game we walked slowly to the car, took our time getting in and then promptly drove straight out of Lot 11 like we had a police escort.  30 minutes after the game we were home.  I guess a few people had left early sensing the Good Guys had the game in hand. (they are a lot more confident than I ever am !)

Had a great time,  game ended with the right result, felt bad about not being to actually sell the extra tickets and I am still astounded by that.  Just wait, when The Boys pile up some wins people will be fighting over those tickets.  Oh well.  That’s the way football go.

later Poke

Which Way Do I Go, Which Way Do I Go ???

It would be sooo easy to write off this years edition of the Good Guys after the debacle in Philly.  Too easy almost.

An offensive line that is actually offensive, a defense that kept the Eagirls punter off the field until the 4th quarter.  Special teams that did nothing special.

Injuries keep mounting up.  Young linebacker with broken/sprained/hurt wrist, Cornerback with hamstring issues, Punter with a bad foot ( which really worries me cuz reports of “drop foot” are kinda scary…besides which he is one of our best weapons sadly).  Not to mention a QB who doesn’t seem to have gotten over his prior injuries and may be getting a little gun shy in the pocket from dodging human missiles not blocked by his large friends up front.

Then you look at the schedule and realize that maybe, just maybe The Heroes of Our Wasted Youth might have caught a break.  Of our next 5 opponents, only one has a winning record.  One has NO wins, One has one win, One has two wins, One we have already beaten this year and has the same record we do as of right now.  The one team with a winning record we play at home which might or might not help but at least the team doesn’t have to travel to Buffalo.

None of that guarantees anything with this collection of underachievers though.  There are no gimme games in the NFL and this team has spit the bit on numerous occasions where you thought they would win but managed to surprise both teams involved and lose.

A few wins piled up in this 5 week stretch could set the Boys up nicely for a meaningful December.  A few losses could just as easily derail their train before it ever leaves the station.

So now that I have electronically erased last weeks game from my brain I look forward with great anticipation, hope and scant little confidence to this weeks game against the Seahawks…but, I do look forward.  Gonna head on out to the Crystal Cathedral and maybe say a few prayers and scream my fool head off cuz that’s what fans do.

right ?  later Poke

24 hour rule extended

this week my 24 hour rule about posting thoughts about the Cowboys will be extended to
48 hours due to the extreme bad taste i have in my mouth right now.
that is all. later Poke

That Was Fun

Been a while since the Heroes of My Youth have been in a game like that !  2 years ago they beat the Seahawks by 21 points but other than that the wins for the Boys seem to be nail biters.

Different kind of game too,  the run game really shined but it’s hard to know if that was totally by design or a case of the Rams being so bad at defending against it.  Either way I was just tickled to see it.

Now all around the craziness that is Dallas Cowboy fan messageboards is talk of the Second Coming.  You know, DeMarco Murray !!  That was an impressive showing by the rookie running back.  I just have to be the one who says let’s wait before we start figuring out a way to put #29 up there with the numbers 22 and 33.

The best thing to see was the run blocking by the o-line and the fullback.  That’s the kind of stuff you will need late in the year to win division games.  I am not saying we will have to be a power run team but you need that component to seal the deal after Romo and Bryant and Witten and Austin get you the lead.

As for Romo, love him or hate him, just know that however his season goes is how the Cowboys season goes.  When he is playing at his best this team is hard to stop.  At his worst, well we have seen enough of that already this year, haven’t we ?

To be honest I don’t want to nit pick this team too early.  Keep reminding yourself that a lot of new pieces were added during an off season where there was no real off season.  The potential to be great is there.  The Good Guys just have to keep putting in the work.

I don’t know about ya’ll but I can’t wait till Sunday to see what happens against the eagles.  Been a while since I felt that way too.

later Poke

Where We Are vs Where I Thought We Would Be

We are 2-3.  I thought we would be 3-2 now.

Not time to wring hands, gnash teeth, moan and roll over playing dead.  One games difference in a league where fortunes can change in the snap of an ACL or a shoulder.

Close games, all competitive, in it to the end.  Not always the best end result but so far the Good Guys have shown they can play.

I hate the mistakes, turnovers, penalties and the way our Heroes look lost at times.  I really expected a Garrett coached team to not show those tendencies.

I am not a Romophobe, nor a RomoHater.  More of a wait and see kinda guy.  The same things that make us love watching him are at times the things that make us hate watching him.

I still see the offensive line as our biggest concern.  Run blocking especially.  Pass blocking too if you think its important for your QB to have time to make all his reads AND be able to step up into the pocket and make strong throws instead of making throws where the footwork isnt right and panic is setting in.

I still think this team gets better this year.  We have been seeing the results of the lockout and now its time for the Boys to start playing like a team that should know their assignments.

Rob Ryans defense has looked great at times but then they have let me down too.  Sure that was Tom Brady last week but I don’t care.  If you have a lead and there is 2 minutes left and you give back the ball the defense has to make a play if you are gonna win close games. On that last drive I don’t think the Pats had any negative plays other than one missed pass.  That aint gonna cut it from a championship type defense.

Looking forward to the next few weeks.  I think we will see a better result. I am thinking we go 3-2 over the next 5 games, if we can steal a win in there to make it 4-1 and be 6-4 at Thanksgiving then get ready for a exciting finish !

later Poke

quick blog

just want to get this out there before sunday since i am busy playing with grandkids.

Cowboys will beat the patriots this sunday.later Poke

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