Taste O' Winter, Website Update, & Cowboys Rant
The first real good cold front of the season has blasted into the area. All day long, temperatures have been in the 40's with breezy north winds, low ceilings, and drizzle. For the first time since April, I'm eyeing those winter clothes packed back in the closet. Soon, the true arctic airmasses will start plunging south as the sun angle continues to lower. I always enjoy winter and the snowstorms it brings around here, but the season just drags on too long for my tastes. But, when the supercells start rampaging around these parts, it always seems worth the wait. :-)
I continue to make progress on revamping my website. If you haven't checked it out in awhile, take a gander at it and see what you think. I'm just about ready to start on the big task of getting the chase reports section revamped. That's up next after I complete my "resume" page. I'm pretty happy so far with what I've come up with after testing and tweaking the look and feel.
Now for the Cowboys....ugh. Their former brilliant coach, Jimmy Johnson says that a really good football team gets better as the season progresses. Dallas is NOT a good football team. Granted, they have a couple of key injuries, but I won't give them that excuse for such progressively poor performances in the past 3 games down to the embarrassing exhibition yesterday.
First and foremost, the offensive line is becoming a serious detriment. Poor Romo scrambled for his life all day yesterday as soon as the ball was snapped. I got tired of seeing the linemen get beat as the opposing players would just maneuver around them on the outside and attack Romo from behind. It was clear to me that Romo and the offensive line were rarely on the same page...totally out of sync. How many times did the center misread or seem oblivious to Romo's snap calls? Heck, one lineman stood there and watched a loose ball (courtesy of Romo) roll around in front of him before he finally made an attempt to recover it. Romo of course shares alot of blame for not protecting the ball more and making better decisions.
My next rant is with the offensive play calling. This is another area where whoever was sending in the plays was oblivious of reality. Down 10 points with about 8 minutes left in the game with 1st and 20. You call three little dump passes in a row for a few yards? 3rd and long and you call for a running play where you've struggled all day long? The passing plays were too few and far between (likely because of the unrelenting pressure on Romo) and never called when we really needed them. Me thinks that Romo is becoming paranoid of making the tough throws because of his tendency to throw to the other guy. TO? What a joke. He's no better than an average receiver...if that good. Way too many dropped balls that should have been easy catches the past few games.
Defense. What defense? LOL! Sure, we've got some injury problems in the secondary which I will give them that excuse. But, poor tackling? I gave up counting all of the poor and missed tackles. There is little pressure at all on the quarterback. I haven't checked, but Dallas as got to be at the bottom of the pack when it comes to forcing turnovers.
Don't get me started on special teams. High school teams perform better than that.
I'm putting most of the blame on coaching. The players are not focused and playing in sync...as a team. Play calling is terrible. Player motivation is sorely lacking. As a result, they are one of the sloppiest teams in the entire league considering they are among the most talented. Talent doesn't mean squat if there isn't good coaching. As we saw yesterday and with the Redskins, good coaching is an absolute necessity in winning a game versus totally blowing it.
Time for Dallas to do some very serious soul-searching and a deep gut check. Wade Phillips needs to start being a coach and stop being a mentor and a buddy to everybody. That or the Boys will be sitting at home come playoff time.
I continue to make progress on revamping my website. If you haven't checked it out in awhile, take a gander at it and see what you think. I'm just about ready to start on the big task of getting the chase reports section revamped. That's up next after I complete my "resume" page. I'm pretty happy so far with what I've come up with after testing and tweaking the look and feel.
Now for the Cowboys....ugh. Their former brilliant coach, Jimmy Johnson says that a really good football team gets better as the season progresses. Dallas is NOT a good football team. Granted, they have a couple of key injuries, but I won't give them that excuse for such progressively poor performances in the past 3 games down to the embarrassing exhibition yesterday.
First and foremost, the offensive line is becoming a serious detriment. Poor Romo scrambled for his life all day yesterday as soon as the ball was snapped. I got tired of seeing the linemen get beat as the opposing players would just maneuver around them on the outside and attack Romo from behind. It was clear to me that Romo and the offensive line were rarely on the same page...totally out of sync. How many times did the center misread or seem oblivious to Romo's snap calls? Heck, one lineman stood there and watched a loose ball (courtesy of Romo) roll around in front of him before he finally made an attempt to recover it. Romo of course shares alot of blame for not protecting the ball more and making better decisions.
My next rant is with the offensive play calling. This is another area where whoever was sending in the plays was oblivious of reality. Down 10 points with about 8 minutes left in the game with 1st and 20. You call three little dump passes in a row for a few yards? 3rd and long and you call for a running play where you've struggled all day long? The passing plays were too few and far between (likely because of the unrelenting pressure on Romo) and never called when we really needed them. Me thinks that Romo is becoming paranoid of making the tough throws because of his tendency to throw to the other guy. TO? What a joke. He's no better than an average receiver...if that good. Way too many dropped balls that should have been easy catches the past few games.
Defense. What defense? LOL! Sure, we've got some injury problems in the secondary which I will give them that excuse. But, poor tackling? I gave up counting all of the poor and missed tackles. There is little pressure at all on the quarterback. I haven't checked, but Dallas as got to be at the bottom of the pack when it comes to forcing turnovers.
Don't get me started on special teams. High school teams perform better than that.
I'm putting most of the blame on coaching. The players are not focused and playing in sync...as a team. Play calling is terrible. Player motivation is sorely lacking. As a result, they are one of the sloppiest teams in the entire league considering they are among the most talented. Talent doesn't mean squat if there isn't good coaching. As we saw yesterday and with the Redskins, good coaching is an absolute necessity in winning a game versus totally blowing it.
Time for Dallas to do some very serious soul-searching and a deep gut check. Wade Phillips needs to start being a coach and stop being a mentor and a buddy to everybody. That or the Boys will be sitting at home come playoff time.
posted by Steve Miller TX at 10/13/2008 04:49:00 PM
3 Comments:
Hey Steve I watched that game, and I really wanted the Cardinals to win. I thought the OT was great since AZ called timeout and I hate teams that call timeout. It gave AZ a chance to think about it, and then boom, blocked kick and TD!
Also, now you've got another clown in Dallas, Roy Williams. I'm glad the Lions unloaded that cancer and got some good draft picks. I think it'll be beneficial for both teams.
Bout the Cowboys rant.. pity..
*Goes off singing...* "Hail to the Redskins"
:D
I think that blocked punt in OT was the perfect "poster child" for how poorly they are playing right now. But, not to take anything away from the Cardinals whatsoever. They played a smart and well executed game in all three areas...offense, defense, and special teams. Alot of that has to do with great coaching..something Dallas doesn't have.
Now with Romo out for at least a couple of games, it's gonna be a long season. With the the other teams in their conference kicking ass, I fear Dallas will struggle to even get a wild card spot.
Speaking of which, I'm also getting tired of Dallas being the "halfway house" in the league for troubled players. "Pacman" is an example of that with his latest stunt.
Jerry Jones better start getting things straightened out before the big, brand new stadium is readied for next season. LOL!
And, Tony, you got any spare Redskins jerseys? I might be buying some soon to start replacing the blue and white ones I have. LOL!! I'm sure it is still stinging abit from the loss to the Rams. Of course, losing Betts doesn't help. As they say, any given Sunday...
The Redskins to me have that "eye of the tiger". Everybody on that team seems to be playing 110%. Last Sunday's game I think was a reality check for them. They will learn from it and adjust. What do you think about them just signing Shaun Alexander? That should be interesting along with all of the other roster shuffling going on this week. It seems they are indeed racting to the Rams loss.
The great thing about the season so far is all of the surprises. It certainly will aid in the suspense concerning playoff possibilities. It makes Sundays that much more enjoyable!
Now....to go learn that damned Redskins song. LOL!!
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