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

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