Is it just me or did everything Jon Gruden or Ron Jaworski say on the broadcast sound like they were reading the last line of a book.  ”He completed the pass for five yards, AND THAT IS HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME OF FOOTBALL AND WIN IN THE ULTIMATE GAME OF LIFE.” It was horrible. I could not watch it after I realized they sounded like the last line of book on every play from scrimmage.

Ron Jaworski

Jaworski probably set this in motion when he cursed during a broadcast and then later apologized in an incredible awkward way.  They should have canned him at the half of that game and I no one would have complained.

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The best way to tell who the better coach is to compare the 1st half and 2nd half for the half-time adjustments. Rob Ryan proved today that he is not ready to be an NFL head coach.  He has the talent, but just cant put an entire game together.  Arizona made adjustments at half to not only beat the defense, but to keep the offense at bay.

D-Ware injured is not a good sign. He is the MVP just because of the amount of preparation time he takes away from the other teams during the week.

Garrett wasn’t to blame for field goal timeout.

Romo and the offense did an OK job with limited opportunities until the last series when he took 40 seconds to spike a ball with two time outs in his pocket.  We were just out of field goal range and needed to run a couple more plays, which we could have. Poor clock management at the end, but it shouldn’t have been that close.

How many plays did you see the boys one half step to slow to get Kolb in the backfield?

If we played them nine more times, we would lose all nine, they figured us out after the first half. Actually, they just went to the Redskins playbook.

Sadly, I keep getting reminded that this is a rebuilding year.  The only that will help me sleep is knowing that Donovan McNabb had a worse weekend than the Cowboys.

]]> http://cowboyblog.com/2011/12/04/out-coached/feed/ 0 http://cowboyblog.com/2011/12/04/how-did-i-do-on-my-power-rankings/ http://cowboyblog.com/2011/12/04/how-did-i-do-on-my-power-rankings/#comments Sun, 04 Dec 2011 17:32:28 +0000 COWBOY http://cowboyblog.com/?p=2888 Continue reading →]]> Its a good time to look at the progress of each team compared to my power rankings from the beginning of the season.   Some of these comments are the opposite of what everyone else was saying, and they were correct.

I’ll update with a new power ranking after this week.  Hint: Cowboys will probably still be number one and the Redskins will probably be last.

Here are the power rankings and comments that I posted before the season.  Highlighted in green are the ones I hit correct. Red are the ones I missed on.  Blue is TBD.

• Dallas Cowboys  - Kitna finally gets his ring.
• Green Bay Packers – Should be another good year, but I don’t see them winning in Dallas in the conference championship this year.
• Pittsburgh Steelers  - Big Ben can will them to 10+ wins. 
• Philadelphia Eagles – Better hope Michael Vick stays healthy and doesn’t get figured out, for the fourth time in his career. 
• New England Patriots  - They get 10 points just by showing up.
• Indianapolis Colts – Kerry Collins is better than most QBs in the league. Not sure he can get wins out of the other chumps on his team, lord knows he has tried for 15 years.
• New York Jets  - The 2nd most popular team that plays in their own home stadium. They have had a good run, but the more pub they get, the more money they get and then they go MIA.  They all do it. 
• Baltimore Ravens -  Good team.  Flacco is good, but they only play for one team all year and then get exhausted. 
• San Diego Chargers – The Chargers are the Charges.  They will win a bunch in a weak division, but they just aren’t champions.
• Houston Texans  - The Texans could benefit from Manning missing some time this season, but Kerry Collins is still better than they are.  
• Atlanta Falcons  - Matt Ryan, two stud receivers, and a good tight end allow them to outscore their division. .
• New York Giants  - Better than average, not a top tier team anymore.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers  - They play hard. Could make the playoffs if the Giants or Eagles stumble. 
• Denver Broncos - Lots of teams would love to have people thinking their third string QB should start.  
• Chicago Bears – Middle of the pack – no reason one way or the other. 
• New Orleans Saints  - Luck has run out.  It is their turn to lose four of the first five games. 
• St Louis Rams  - Young enough to win a few, not good enough to win a bunch.
• San Francisco 49-ers  - Better than the lions, but worse than the Rams. 
• Detroit Lions  - They are the lions. If they win eight, it was a successful year. 
•  Kansas City Chiefs – Tough schedule –  should win 6 games and feel good about it.
• Miami Dolphins  - Had enough time for the Parcell stink to take effect. It takes a few years to get discovered. 
• Arizona Cardinals  - Another team that was happy to get another team’s backup QB.  They should be happy with five wins.
• Cleveland Browns – Who cares?
• Oakland Raiders – The only QB worse than Jamarcus Russell is their current starter.  
• Cincinnati Bengals  - Rookie QB is better than Cam Newton
• Buffalo Bills – Tough division, star running backs often forget their helmets for the first play of the Superbowl. 
• Jacksonville Jaguars – No Opinion at all. Do they still have a franchise?
• Seattle Seahawks – Starting QB lost his job as a backup.  
• Tennessee Titans  - Chris Johnson gets a new contract, then goes MIA. They all do it.  
• Carolina Panthers  - Cam Newton is more JeMarcus Russell than Troy Aikman. 
• Minnesota Vikings – McNabb is one of the most overrated QBs in NFL history. After they lose a few, he will fake an injury. 
• Washington Redskins  - Redskins are just horrible.  I wonder how their fans feel every year knowing they are the worst franchise in professional sports?

Are we rebuilding or building on 2009? As a fan, I am not really sure.  I hope that the new young offensive line fits perfectly with a big part of Jason Garrett’s philosophy to win now. I hope the injuries from the that last week turn out to be incidental.  I hope that Rob Ryan is the real deal and has our team disguising our defensive calls for the first time in a decade.  I hope our kicks are straight and long.  I hope the new culture will eliminate the useless and careless drive-killing penalties.  I Hope. 

I find I’m so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

Surprising to me, the Cowboys have been busy cutting veterans.  Here are the starters from last year that will not have a star on their helmet for the first game.

• Leonard Davis
• Andre Gurode
• Marc Colombo
• Roy Williams
• Marion Barber
• Igor Olshansky
• Chris Gronkowski

  Click Here For NFL Power Rankings

Here are Saturday’s roster cuts:

QB Tom Brandstater
RB Lonyae Miller
FB Shaun Chapas
FB Chris Gronkowski 
FB Jason Pociask
FB Isaiah Greenhouse
WR Lyle Leong
WR Manuel Johnson
WR Tysson Poots
WR Teddy Williams
G Pepa Letuli
DE Igor Olshansky 
DE Jimmy Saddler-McQueen
LB Brandon Williams 
LB Mike Balogun
LB Kenwin Cummings
LB Orie Lemon
S Akwasi Owusu-Ansah 
S Andrew Sendejo
S Colin Zych
CB Mario Butler
CB Chris Randle
CB Josh Thomas
K Shayne Graham
K Dave Rayner
P Chris Jones

Moved to IR:
WR Raymond Radway

Look at this short list of ex-Offensive Lineman that were in place during the successful 2009 season, just two years ago:

• Flozell Adams
• Leonard Davis
• Marc Colombo
• Andre Gurode

All of these guys are capable of starting on many other teams in the NFL.  There are a lot of pro-bowls from guys on that list.

Looks like Kyle Kosier and Doug Free are the last men standing from the last couple of seasons.  The other guys will be making their debut.

• Doug Free – Starting at Left Tackle, arguably the third or fourth most important position on the team.   Not yet two full seasons as a starter in the NFL.
• Kyle Kosier – The veteran of the group
• These guys will be making their first ever NFL start on September 11 in NY on national television, after a lockout offseason without any work together.
• Tyron Smith – Right Tackle – Rookie – 20-years old.
• Bill Nagy – left Guard – 2nd Year player
• Phil Costa – Center  – Rookie – Currently injured

I really cant watch an entire game with the same intensity that I watch regular season games.  Not even close.   I end up just checking the news the next morning hoping to see no major injuries.

I guess a preseason win against the Vikings is better than listening to news about Demaurice Smith and Roger Gooddell having dinner together talking about the lockout.