Its not even November Yet !!!

woe is me....toil and trouble...no thats not it.
it was a dark and stormy night......no actually its been very nice here
in the metroplex.
these are the times that try mens souls......wait thats been done already.

i am searching for just the right words to convey the general sense of dread
i feel coming from the "fans" of the Cowboys. hey i hated watching them lose to
Seattle. i knew 10 points wasnt going to be enough to win, just like i knew 13
points wasnt going to cut it against Washington.

BUT...STOP THE INSANITY !!

We are 7 games into a 16 (sixteen ) game season. the record is 4-3 not 0-7.
we could even say that we are only 3 plays from being 7-0, or 1-6 to be totally
honest with you, cuz they did kick some serious eagle butt !!! but all the other
games could have gone either way.

so, remember in my first post or so i said save the Prozac for later ??
it might be a good time for some of the hand-wringing, hair-pulling,
crying in their beer types to pop a few before they lose it completely.

a good win this week against Arizona and this team is 5-3 at the halfway mark
with their bye week coming up. the 3 new starters on offense from last week
did okay, more playing time should only help them. Julius Jones should be back
after that. We have a new kicker, and while i dont know if he is any better
than Lose Cortez...oops i mean Jose at least maybe he wont point at somebody
else if and when he does miss a chip shot 29 yard field goal attempt.

I think we are still going to have a great season. My hopes are still high.
My expectations havent dimmed even a little bit. I have learned to have great
patience and enduring optimism. Even crushing losses will not burn out the light
of hope i have.

I have learned a lot watching the Houston Astros. later Poke

temporary change

okay...i know its a Cowboys blog.
but it is my Cowboys blog.
i have waited a long time for this.
so WAY TO GO ASTROS !!!!!! YEAHHHHHHHHHHH
congratulations to all the Astros, especially
Biggio and Bagwell.
and Roy Oswalt is a STUD pitcher !!!!!!!!!
first World Series ever ever ever to be played in
Texas...finally.
okay so now i can go back to worrying,planning,
and pulling for the Boys in Blue.
i promise not to hijack the blog for baseball again.
(until the Stros win the Series anyway )
later Poke

I gotta get some closer seats !!

okay cool another win at the tabernacle known as Texas Satdium.
im happy with that. but hey i cant always write feel good funny
stuff or i wont be taken seriously as a journalistic phenom.
so today i have to let ya'll know Parcells apparently cant hear
me from my seats in section 13 about 40 rows up.

when we stopped the giants and recovered that fumble my brain kicked
into over-drive and i starting thinking of our best way to get out of there
with a win. i learned from Coach Landry that you always have to be thinking
ahead so i couldnt just be happy that we forced and recovered a fumble
and stopped a touchdown from happening. no sirree not me.

so we ran the ball, the giants used their 1st timeout. then we run again and they
use their 2nd timeout and i have my plan ready to unleash on the Giants.
i am thinking that we run the ball one more time, preferably a QB sneak
cause i am not impressed with our ball handling that close to the opponents
goal line and i can see a huge gap between our center and left guard.

i know that as soon as we run again the giants will use their last timeout
and it will be 4th down and probably 8 for a first down. there will also
be about 52 seconds on the clock and the Giants will be out of timeouts.
we are ahead by 7 points 13 to 6.

now..heres where some of you are going to think i am TOTALLY NUTS.
i want our trusty punter to catch the snap, wait as long as possible
and then simply step backwards out of the endzone. SAFETY, 2 points to the Giants.
score 13-8. clock probably down to about 49 seconds. Giants with no timeouts.

Free kick from the 20. Cortez had been kicking off to the goal line all day from the
35 so he could probably get it to the 15. McBriar our punter has a super strong
leg so maybe you let him kick it high and as deep as possible. either way
it puts the giants back farther than a punt (a quick one especially ) which
let them start their last drive from their own 48 yard line. 2 plays later
they score the tying touchdown.

my thoughts are that with no timeouts they couldnt just go down the middle of the field, they would have to work the sidelines and they would have 20 yards or so more field to cover . i know we are occasionally weak covering deep throws but we had
done a good job all day of pressuring Manning. on the td throw to Shockey terrence
newman was crawling almost getting to Manning before the throw.

anyway it all worked out, the Boyz won the game because they won the coin toss,
and the offense did just enough for Jose to kick a redeeming field goal in OT
to win.

but the extra football i got to watch i would have gladly traded for a win in
regulation and i kinda liked my plan. Ole Bill probably would have liked it too
but he just couldnt hear me screaming from clear across the field telling him what
to do. so feel free to send money, lotsa money and next year i will get me some
tickets at least on Parcells side of the field and we will probably end up
in the Super Bowl or something. anyway thats what i was thinking, i could be wrong,
later Poke.

ps. good thing this isnt an Astros blog or i would have to explain how i would
have gotten the astros out of that 9th inning mess tonight and my brain is already
overtaxed from sundays football game. later Poke

what a day to be at Texas Stadium

man oh man what a beautiful day sunday was. the weather was great, the crowd
was rocking from start to finish, and the silver and blue put a butt-whipping
on the eagles....and t.o. only had 5 catches for 50 yards and NO TOUCHDOWNS !!!

but i'm getting ahead of myself. the last 14 or so days have been hectic around
here. i havent had any super duper insights on the cowboys hence the long time
between updates here on this blog. been busy, really busy, my folks from east
texas have been here because they couldnt go home because they basically
had none of the things we are all used to having..electricity, gas, grocery stores.
no doctors, hospitals ...stuff like that.

then BOOM.....all of sudden power started getting restored, some places opened up,
my brother made a recon trip and checked it all out. the cities started letting
people back in. some had power, some didnt. who was gonna need to stay ?? who was
gonna want to get back ?? they didnt know, i didnt know.

Sunday morning the last of our band of brothers,(not literally brothers ) got up
early, packed their stuff and headed home. everybody's houses had made it thru
without major damage..heck with very little damage at all compared to a lot of folks.
we were lucky and i was feeling blessed.

then it hit me..i have tickets ( free ones even ) to the Game today !!!!!!!!
oh my..my routine was way off, i didnt have the lawn chairs loaded, the cooler
packed, no face paint...aaaaggghhhh oh well better to go unprepared than not go at
all. right ?? thats what i thought too. so me and my wife jump in the suv after
church..rush home..grab some water and at least my jersey. jump in the suv
take off as fast as we can (even though it was still 3 hours till game time ).
40 minute drive to the stadium and beat all the traffic.....uhh-ohhh.
we are halfway there when it hits me. for some reason i had turned on my
backyard sprinklers ( the ones no one can get to to turn off ). now i know its
going to be 7 hours till i get home. pre-game, game, post game, traffic...
what to do ?? what to do ??
i know i won't enjoy the game worrying so i turn around, make a mad dash back
west on I-20 to my house. must have looked really funny with the cowboy pennants
flying on my windows and the magnet that says "we're on our way, to see the Cowboys
play " and i am headed in the totally wrong direction. turn off the water, leave the car running, jump back in and zoom zoom zoom back to where we wanted to be.
ahhhhhhhhhh made it. still no bad traffic, thru the gates and in our seats
to watch the pregame warmups, boo the iggles when they come out and holler like
banshees when the good guys in the BLUE and SILVER come out.
then watch the best game, with the best crowd i have seen in years at Texas Stadium.
stood up nearly the whole game and loved every minute of it.
and to top it all off, my brother calls when we have the game in hand and tells
me the Astros have won, in 18 innings no less, with Clemens getting the win
in relief ! throw in the UT win over OU on saturday...no wonder i felt blessed.
it was a perfect weekend for a sports nut like yours truly. and the sky never
looked bluer (is that a word ? ) looking out the hole in the roof at Texas Stadium.

priorities

okay i loved the game sunday. it got my heart rate going enough i skipped
my usual 10 mile jog monday morning. yeah right like i ever jogged 10 miles
in my life. anyway i loved watching the Boys come back and win one after
falling behind away from home. takes a little of the sting away from last mondays
disaapointing loss.and as far as routine goes...this week about the only thing
i did that i usually do was to remember to go put on a cowboys jersey right
before the game started.
see...i was a little distracted. i had a house full of people. not just any people
but family . now my family knows me well enough to not bug me too much during
a cowboys game, they dont usually call, we live 5 hours apart so they cant just stop
by. but this week was a lot different.
a thing called Rita had decided to hit land really close to all their houses.
they all live in beaumont or just north of there. wednesday and thursday they had
wisely (as my old dad used to say ) " hooked up their hiney wagons " and blasted
off to my house. everybody made it without the well known "14 to 24 hour drive "
that usually only takes 5 or 5 1/2.
so instead of watching with only my wife and a few (very few) friends i had a
72 yr. old, a 5 yr. old, a couple of 20-somethings, (one of which is pregnant),
my older brother,( who often comments on this page ) and 3 dogs (one being a
beautiful 8 week old puppy ). man talk about a change in routine !!!!
and after last weeks blog about how it didnt really help i guess this just reinforced
that lesson.
and even as the Boys looked terrible, and the score got worse, and the 49'ers
looked totally unstoppable....i was gonna be okay with it. i really was, the people
i love and who loved me were all okay. they were safe, comfortable ( as much as that
diverse and large a group can be under one roof anyway ) and definitely alive.
when the Cowboys won this week it was just a bonus. we had already had our blessing.
later Poke

A REVELATION

well it has happened again. 2 games into the season and i am slammed with a revelation. i followed my game day routine perfectly. i wore only dallas cowboy
clothing all day long, roy williams jersey, cowboy socks,shorts and even the lucky
underwear deal. i got out my emmitt smith record setting game day cap and wore it knowing it would get sweat saoked. i thought about the game all day long. i had the perfect pre game snacks and drinks for the tailgate party picked out. i got to the
stadium early and parked in my traditional lucky section C. i set up the pop up shade and got the table set. it was heaven . Texas Stadium was rocking even early which isn't always the case. Our little group(4) of fans whooped, hollered, waved towels, stood up a lot, slapped high fives...we did it all. we gave it everything we had.

even when the deadskins scored late we stayed positive but not over confident.
we STAYED FOCUSED....except for a late run to get a lemon chill to keep from
overheating. My son and I even turned our caps around backwards, inside out,
upside down, sideways...every which way but loose. we were 110 per centers.
i can't even talk today im so hoarse, my hands hurt from clapping so hard,
and my head is still roaring from all the noise. WE NEVER GAVE UP !!!!!

BUT...here it is, my latest revelation, which happens at least once a year
but i always forget it from year to year, heck even from game to game.

WHAT I DO HAS NO EFFECT ON THE OUTCOME OF THE GAME !!!!!!! AAAAAGGGHHHHHHHH
occasionally the crowd can really make a lot of noise and upset the other teams
offense, get your own team pumped up, but in the end the players have to make the plays, the coaches have to coach and you have to remember that the other guys in different colored jerseys are trying their best to upset what your team is trying to do.
It was still a blast being there, and yes i will do the same thing next time i get
a chance and the Cowboys are still my team. I may have to think about some new
underwear though........later Poke

Tribute to the Triplets

okay its 8 am monday morning, the Cowboys play at 8 pm. im ready for the game.
the car is loaded, my clothes are picked out, binoculars , camera, towels,
hats, ugly cowboy face mask, flags for the car windows...all sitting there
ready to go. this is a sickness...i only live 30-40 minutes from Texas Stadium.

But tonight is going to be something special. we play the redskins and its Monday
Night Football. and...the triplets are going into the Ring of Honor. I will tell
you right now that sometimes after a game I am not always in a good mood. things happen, bad things ..things i will not even allow myself to think about. soooo
i thought that before the game i would write something nice and level headed about
these guys. for one thing i loved watching them play together..they were beyond good.
you just expected them to come out and win and win handily. and they did, a lot.
3 Super Bowls in 4 years. you knew Irvin was going to make a great catch, Troy
was going to throw some great passes and Emmitt was going to give you every thing
he had running the ball. you just knew it. and i could go on and on about what they did and how they did it and just ramble but like they say " a picture is worth a
thousand words." so heres a picture. thanks to one of the many guys at
http://cowboyszone.com/forums/index.php? for this picture...i think it belongs to Jacs...if not sorry but it fit
my thought about them perfectly. 3 guys, 3 Super Bowls, 3 Rings.


i have done my piece on the triplets. now i can
concentrate on getting this years Cowboys to beat this years Deadskins. i feel better already. only 11 1/2 hours till gametime...gotta go .
oh by the way....Happy Birthday Big Brother !!! later Poke

Lets Dont TCU

wow......what a game !!! i almost died 4 times at the end of the game.
thank you Coach Marty for not using LaDanian that close to the end zone.
its a good week when your biggest worry is how to improve your kickoff
coverage. well, that might not be the biggest worry.
last week i watched in awe as TCU went to Norman OK. and the pretty boys
in purple uniforms beat those big bad red clad brutes on their home field.
unreal, a Mountain West team whipping a Big 12 powerhouse. but it happened.
then this week TCU went east 20 miles to take on a team that hasn't been a
powerhouse since the early 80's when the NCAA dealt them the death penalty
for violating a few too many rules. yep the good old SMU Mustangs from that
super tough Conference-USA. and TCU lost..21-10 not even close . TCU holds
Oklahoma to 10 points and then gives up 21 to SMU ????? How ? Why ?

that's what I love about sports..its not scripted. if you dont show up ready
to play your hardest you may get surprised. TCU sure did.

and that may be my biggest worry this week..I'm sure Parcells has thought about it.
all the experts ( most anyway ) picked San Diego to beat the Cowboys.
didn't happen though. Now this week I imagine most of those same geniuses will
pick the Cowboys to beat the Redskins. I mean the redskins put on an offensive
show against the Bears.......3 field goals and won 9-7. So I'm just guessing
that since the game is in Dallas, on Monday night, with the triplets going into
the Ring Of Honor, after winning a tough road game that the Boys will be favored
to win. And since I am a TOTAL HOMER I'm picking them to win too.

but please, please just don't do a TCU on us..........later Poke

a total HOMER

i have watched the Cowboys all my life, so long that i dont even remember exactly
when i became a fan. just to make it easy im gonna say 40 years. so its just an estimate but i have watched 500 of their games i'm sure.
people who know me know how much i like them so they are always asking me if i think
they are going to beat " whoever ". i always try to act like i have a great analytical mind and i list all the reasons why i think they will or will not win
that particular game. it makes great conversation and it beats griping about how
much gas costs or how hot it is and stuff like that.
BUT...i have a confession to make. I am only telling you folks this so you dont
all run out and make outlandish bets and lose your rent and grocery money.
I HAVE NEVER STARTED WATCHING THE COWBOYS PLAY A GAME THINKING THAT THEY WERE
GOING TO ACTUALLY LOSE !!!!
no matter what i may have said during a conversation or on a message board
down deep in my heart i always think the Cowboys are going to win. always.
thats why i am not a gambler. when i was a kid at school and some kid started
spouting off and wanting to bet their team would beat the Boys i always took
my lunch money and bet on my team..the Dallas Cowboys. you cant tell by looking
at me now but i sure did have to skip lunch a lot in those days. so i learned
early on not to bet on them. but i never learned and i dont guess i ever will
that they probably arent going to win every time they play. i mean i know it..
but i never quit hoping, wishing.
anyway since the season starts thursday (cowboys play sunday )i just wanted
to let ya'll know not to take the brilliant, insightful and extremely informative
information i put forth here and take it to Vegas and try to make a killing.
if you do its your own fault now . having said all that and in spite of the lessons
i learned at an early age i now predict the COWBOYS RECORD WILL BE 9-7.
(i also just learned how to edit these posts so if you are gonna make me eat those
words you better figure out a way to save this page somewhere )
anyway im ready...bring on the chargers...later Poke

Better Buy a Program

yep you better get you a program..this ain't last years Dallas Cowboys.
by my best count there are 18 new names on the 53 man roster this year.
and i am pretty sure Parcells isn't through making moves yet. of the 18
10..count em..thats 10 (ten) are ROOKIES. add those to the free agents
(bledsoe, ferguson, henry , rivera ) and then the trades (fujita) and
the signing of players released by other teams ( cortez, pile, peerless price)
and its easy to see this is going to be a different team.
better ?? i dont know, on paper i think we are better but until they actually
play the games who knows ??
heck im not even sure i got all the new names listed and i try really hard to
keep up with what they are doing on a daily basis. i would feel bad but
on the cowboys official website they still have a guy listed on the depth chart
that got cut at least 10 days ago, so this is as good as i can do.
besides at about $10 for a program ole Jerry might make enough money to sign us
some more new players. we still need another safety and it wouldnt be a bad thing
to have another offensive tackle too. so get out there...........buy a program
you are gonna need it. later Poke