Red Sox

In a sports culture where talent wins, it really remarkable to see a team shed talent, bring in lesser talent "character guys", find the right coach, and then go from 93 losses to World Series champs.  These Red Sox were the best in the league almost from day 1 this year, but there is no way I look at them and get awed by the talent.  It's a real tribute to coaching, character, chemistry and all those fuzzy words that we normally ignore because you can't quantify them.  Good players, good attitude, well-rounded.  Very impressive and to think this franchise went around 85 years without a championship, pretty cool.  And of course I love that it comes at the pain of the Yankees.

S

Dallas Update is it better or Worse

There have been too many questions about the Dallas and the expectations.

Offense:

1.) Dallas is 4th in Points Scored.  

This is a huge improvement for a team that has ranked 15th the last two years. 

Outcome-Callahan has been an improvement. 

2. )Yardage gained 14th, down from 6th and 11th the previous two years.

Wasted argument when they did not score points. 

3.)  4 years ago (2010)the offense finished 7th in points and yardage and had a 6-10 record. 

4.) Margin of victory is highest since Wades first year following Big Bill 

5.) Turnovers are down. 6th in league from 25th last year.

6.) Time of Possession-16th . 13th last year. 30:17 from 30:25

Callahan is not the issue.  

This offense is Avg at best with a terrible OLINE. 

Because of the Points Scored this offense is better than last year. 

I still think that turning Romo loose will produce a better team since they currently rank 29th in the number of plays the offense runs, which keeps this awful defense on the field. 

J. 

Deion vs Calvin Johnson.

The big debate on TV today was the worst GM in Football saying the Deion could shut down Calvin Johnson. I even had a 20 something person say that Johnson was faster.  I just laughed and told him about the 4.19 with borrowed shoes he ran in sweat pants.

Stats: 
CJ  - 6 ft5 240lbs
DS - 6 ft1 200lbs

Close enough and Deion was a big CB.  Some sites had him at 6ft 2.

40yd:
CJ 4.35 great.
DS- 4.27  this was with warm ups and borrowed shoes.   He is just faster.

Deion was the Quickest Defensive Player I have ever seen.  
Rumors out of San Fran was that in practice Jerry Rice would blow a gasket because he couldn't get open with Deion trying to stop him.
It is highly underrated that Deion was a student of the game.
The interceptions he had were always because he baited teams to challenge him.
The players he had problems with had to be specific route runners and had accurate QB's.
CJ is great, but he doesn't have the most accurate QB..
Michael Irvin physically beat up Deion a couple of times and had route running to a science and maybe the most accurate strong arm qb in history throwing to him.

Quickness is the reason I think that Deion would CJ struggle.
I would expect interceptions out of Stafford a couple of times.
CJ couldn't be stopped completely but he would not go off.

I think CJ is the closest WR talent to Randy Moss that I have even seen.
He is not as quick, fast or acrobatic as Moss but he is a better competitor and a beast.
Moss was 4.25 40yd with 40 inch vertical and never seemed to try or work out.
.

J.

America's Team

I frequently argue with people about the Cowboys franchise and the almost unmatched history of excellence.  This is what we grew up with, and why this last 15 years is so painful.

Here are the years that the Cowboys made it to at least the NFC championship game:

1966 - NFL championship game
1967 - NFL championship game
1968 - Eastern Conference championship game
1969 - Eastern Conference championship game
1970 - Super Bowl
1971 - Super Bowl (champs)
1972 - NFC championship game
1973 - NFC championship game
1975 - Super Bowl
1977 - Super Bowl (champs)
1978 - Super Bowl
1980 - NFC championship game
1981 - NFC championship game
1982 - NFC championship game

Taking stock here, the Cowboys reached at least the conference championship game in 14 of 17 years!  How can you put that into perspective?  Can you imagine the level of excellence to be at worst 1 game away from the NFL championship game 14 out of 17 years?  Extending through the 1985 season, the Cowboys had 20 consecutive winning seasons, won the division 13 out of 20 years, and made the playoffs 18 out of 20.  This was the legacy of Schramm, Landry, and Brandt, and why the Cowboys took their place with the Celtics and Yankees as the best and most valuable franchises in North America.

Then they stumbled onto Jimmy Johnson and made a last charge into history before Jerry the GM took final, total control and steered us off a cliff:

1992 - Super Bowl (champs)
1993 - Super Bowl (champs)
1994 - NFC championship game
1995 - Super Bowl (champs)

Add it up and it's 30 seasons with 18 conference championship game appearances.  Johnson leaves, Jones takes over personnel and it's 16 seasons and counting without getting that far again.

S

Radio

Today Tim Cowlishaw replaces the great Randy Galloway on the DFW ESPN drive-time afternoon show alongside Matt Moseley.  I'm hopeful because I dislike the national ESPN show and the Ticket buffoons during my drive home.  I've been listening to Mad Dog but I like to switch during the drive.  I'll report back in a few days after giving Tim a chance.

S

J.J. the Clueless

I caught a bit of J.J.'s radio show today and a caller was riding him for the Cowboy's mediocrity.  J.J.'s answer: "how did you like those 3 Super Bowls?".....18 years ago!  Then he gave the same crap as always, the day he doesn't call the shots is the day he no longer owns the team, blah, blah, blah.

It has become such a major unpleasant experience to be a Cowboys fan.  The current generation of fans is learning that to be a Cowboy fan means to hope for a surprise 10-6 finish and some miracle run through the playoffs.  15 years of average or below-average football and we're only mentioned for negative stuff: the Romo meltdowns, the Dez blow-ups, the lack of playoff success, bad trades (Roy Williams), bad drafts, criminal acts (Josh Brent), on and on.  Our great franchise is a joke!

S

Talking HS Football

A little mid-season HS football talk as we slog through district play.  I think I am more impressed with Allen at this stage of the season than any year I can remember.  The average margin of victory so far is 49-19.  They have impressive wins over Southlake, Cedar Hill, Hebron, and Coppell, with the closest game being 19 points.  I've seen a couple of polls listing them 2nd nationally.

Just like last year, I have my eyes on DeSoto.  National polls have them right behind Allen and they have even more impressive scores; average margin 52-20.  They have whipped Euless Trinity, Cedar Hill, and Tulsa Union among others.  I could see another collision coming with Allen.

This is certainly the most talented Allen team if you look at Division 1 talent.  This morning the paper had an announcement that an Allen kid became the first member of the class of 2016 to be rated a 5-star by Scout.com.  Here is the current list of Allen recruits that I know of:

Greg Little - Offensive Tackle - 5 Star class of 2016 (he is listed at 6'5" 288)
Bobby Evans - Offensive Tackle - 4 Star class of 2015 - committed to Oklahoma
Kyler Murray - QB - 4 Star class of 2015 - offers from A&M, Clemson, Arkansas, many others
Christian Sam - OLB - 3 Star class of 2014 - committed to Arizona St.
Tay Evans - OLB - 3 Star class of 2014 - committed to Oklahoma
Chad Adams - Safety - 3 Star class of 2014 - committed to Arizona St.
Mayomi Olootu - Corner - 3 Star class of 2014 - committed to Northern Illinois
Tejan Koroma - Center - 2 Star class of 2014 - committed to BYU


S

NFL Rosters

We don't necessarily win like we should, but our buddy Les Miles can certainly recruit and develop players.  Here are the top 12 college affiliations for the start of the 2013 NFL season.

1. USC — 40 players
2. LSU — 39
3. Miami — 38
4. Georgia — 36
5. Florida State — 31
5. Texas — 31
7. Alabama — 30
7. Cal — 30
7. Tennessee — 30
10. Ohio State — 27
10. Oregon — 27
12. Florida — 26

LSU also has the highest concentration of 1 position: an incredible 11 defensive backs in the NFL.  And these 39 players will soon be joined by Mettenberger, Landry, Beckham, Hill, Johnson, Loston, and I lose count.  It's remarkable really.  Oregon is getting hard to ignore.  Where is Oklahoma?

S

Ryan's Departure

I've been trying to figure out what to write about the departure of Nolan Ryan.  I can't work up a lot of hate for Jon Daniels although he certainly deserves a lot of the blame for this.  He's very sharp and knew he would win eventually because he had leverage, while Ryan did not.  Nolan Ryan just is not a guy to shake hands and do nothing.  And, they couldn't both be in charge.

The thing is, it's always hard to determine exactly what he should get credit for or not.  But I'm so sad to see him go, because at the end of the day Nolan Ryan made baseball in the rest of America care about the formerly hapless Texas Rangers.  He made the Rangers matter.  Credibility is the word most often used, and I agree with it.  He made them legit.  He made it impossible to ignore them.  How many lasting decisions he made, I'm not sure.  But, the stories abound about the love that the staff had for him.  He was a leader, when the Rangers desperately needed one.  He made a difference in the culture.  The franchise is immeasurably better because he spent 6 years as the face.

Now Jon Daniels will sail alone.  Like I said, I can't really hate him.  He's made mistakes, but he has built a contender that baseball people only recently called a top-5 model franchise.  But, he will have a short leash with the public after this feud with the beloved Ryan.  The franchise will now completely sink or swim based on his decisions, so here we go.  But I will miss Nolan Ryan in that box every night and the comfort it seemed to bring.

S

Jimmy Johnson

There is a book about great rivalries in publication and one of the quotes from the book is crazy.
Switzer and Bowden laughed about how many Titles Johnson cost them.

In a five year span, Johnson beat the top ranked Sooners twice and FL State 4 times.  Two of these cost them the national title.  Bowden lost to Miami the last 4 years and twice it was his only loss and cost him NC.

After that first year, when Miami when 8-5 the dominance began.

Year 2-  Losses to Florida in first game. But then a loss Tennessee in Sugar as 2nd rank team. This loss cost him a National Championship. Switzer won it  after number 1 and 2 lost.  Miami beat them sooner 27-14 that year.
Year 3- Sickening loss to Penn State in the game that I still cannot comprehend. The dominated Penn State.
Year 4- Undefeated. NC Year.
Year 5- Blew a game Holtz 31-30 in South Bend. That cost him the National Championship Holtz then only had to beat WVA for the title.

Basically he played for the NC the last 4 years and only won ONE.

Then 5 years in Dallas and 2 Super bowls in his last two years.

He was magically maniacal.

J.

Jerry said Ratliff was LEGAL issue.

It had to be something for to give up a  pro bowl player that they drafted.  

My previous post had legal as the top reason.

Jerry is going to spend some money with lawyers getting his cap space back!

J. 

College Coaching Rivalries

The Morning News brought this up and I thought it would be fun to look some up:

Barry Switzer 12-5 over Tom Osborne
Bob Stoops 9-6 over Mack Brown
Darrell Royal 14-5 over Frank Broyles
Bo Schembechler 5-4-1 over Woody Hayes
John McKay 5-3-2 over Ara Parseghian
Bear Bryant 13-5 over Shug Jordan
Bobby Bowden 8-5-1 over Steve Spurrier

S

JAY RATLIFF RELEASE

There is a pungent odor with this decision.
The organization has refused to say much all year about Ratliff.
I know that last year he was help back by teammates from attacking Jerry Jones, but I don't think that is the problem.  He publicly rejected the teams training staff, but that is his decision and not worth the cap hit.

To start the season on the PUP list for a hamstring confused everyone.
In the meantime, the radio the talking heads said that he looked great and was very trim all year. so it is obvious he was still working out..

His contract will be nearly $7 Million in a cap hit next year, so this cannot be a business decision. The Def Line is so thin they are playing people off the street..

Take your pick.
1.) Medical things that cannot be discussed
2.) Legal issues outside the NFL.
3.) Suddenly cannot preform. (Ridiculous)

J.

Hitterish

So I am sitting here watching Molina at bat in the 6th and the color man says he this?

"He hasn't got himself going, but he looks "Hitterish" to me."

Ha.  What? The play by play laughed and said I like that word in a tongue in cheek slap at him.


J

Cowboys Pain

It has been a rough three weeks for me to watch.
I did not expect much better than 8-8 and 3-3 is all I can expect.
But, I am starting to think that 11-5 is a new coach away.
The Defense is really the worse than I feared. The other teams never get off the field and run a million plays.
How Bad is Defense:
2013- 105 Rushing yards a game and 308 yards passing.
2012-125 Rushing-230 yd passing
2011- 99 Rushing- 244 yd passing
2010  108 Rushing-243 Passing
Games
(1)Giants 478yds  Boys 331 lucky win , Dallas actually ran more plays because of the six turnovers.
(2)Chiefs 313 Boys 318  - KC 65 plays Dallas 61
(3). Rams 232 Boys 396 but the Rams ran 8 more offensive plays than Dallas. 67 to 59.
 Bradford is just not very good.

Offensively
2013- 85 Rushing-265 passing
2012-79 Rushing-296 passing
2011- 113 Rushing-263 passing
2010- 112 Rushing - 253 passing

San Diego -  In the pre-game the pundits were discussing the fact that Miles Austin was going to be out again and the the Coaching Staff (Red Jesus) wanted to run the ball.  They seemed to think that the Rams small Defensive was the NFL norm.  This strategy even though the Chargers were terrible in passing defense.    One scout said,  "I don't know why they wouldn't attack them with Romo and Dez"
The outcome- A toned down offense that led to a lucky first half lead and another loss.

The defense is not giving up big plays, but they cannot stop anyone.
Bend don't break is definitely better than the last two years, but not that much better.
Charges 506 yds on 70 plays. Boys 319 total yards on 56 plays and 92 rushing yds when they schemed for it.  That is bad coaching.  

Denver- Fear of embarrassment  is the best thing for this coaching staff..
Red knew it was score points or lose and it was great.  Romo was fantastic and Denver had no idea what to do.  The entire game Dallas ran sets with no RB's and Romo picked them apart without Miles Austin.
The interception was gut wrenching.  I cannot explain several things on the two plays in that drive. But lets start with how a 3 man rush and a RB in the backfield got pressure on Romo.
I cannot blame the offense or an interception for the loss.
  51 Points Allowed!. Bend and don't Break the SCOREBOARD is all this Defense can do.
517 yards on 73 plays.  Dallas 522 on 54 plays .

 A game Dallas seemed to be even was 4 min difference in time of possession.

I left this game with optimism, thinking Garrett would understand his players.

Washington:
A win and I feel worse than I did after the Denver game.
The Redskins are not talented and lack depth yet the held the Cowboys to 213 total yards.
The skins had 433 in 75 plays to Dallas 50 plays.
I am sick of watching this terrible preparation and hoping not to lose vs trying to win.

I have no faith Dallas will finish 8-8.
Thank goodness that Philly has given up 42 yards more than Dallas or they would be last.
They are 25th in Scoring Defense.

The saving grace is Romo and the passing offense is scoring Points and is 2nd in the league thru 6 games.

J.

Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers is really a great QB in the great scheme the Packers use. I rate him behind only Manning and Brady. True to form, he is having another strong year and I expect him to shatter the all time QB rating by the time he retires.
I was asked  yesterday, Farve or Rodgers? Tough question.
But!  Rodgers is definitely in the Diva category with Farve
.
He has made passive aggressive remarks his entire career and I have yet to see any charisma from this guy. Then an old teammates started complaining about his locker room and I blew it off  I think this just sour grapes from a past WR not getting enough attention.)

Then this weekend, he gripes about a tackle being low on a WR.
 It was low!
But the cause of the leg his was Rodgers pass. His pass was high and he hung his WR out and he could not get down to protect himself for the collision.
Rodgers Fault!

What is worse?
A.  DB trying to dislodge the ball and when the WR ducks he gets hit in the head causing a concussion and a penalty.
B. DB tackling below the waist and possibly hurting the players?

The NFL maybe turning into MLB and the inside pitch.
 It is a NO-WIN situation.  

J