Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Giants bring in new Dallas era, again

The Dallas Cowboys are America's team. That's not for debate. The Cowboy's are also America's most visible team with the most visible owner. That too is not to be debated. Being high profile can be a gift and a curse, with great praise and attention comes equal scrutiny. Over the past 50 years we have witnessed the rise and fall of the Cowboys several times over, each new beginning having their own unique transitional point. Tennessee's Music City Miracle officially transitioned the team from the Oilers to the Titans in 99. The Titans went to their first Super Bowl that year. Drew Bledsoe's injury paved the way for Tom Brady and a subsequent Patriot's dynasty. Although the Cowboys' transitional points have been different over the past 2o years, they always seem to involve the New York Giants. Even if the Giants were an unwilling participant.

In the 1993 season finale, the defending champion Dallas Cowboys went into Giants stadium with a must win game on their hands. A win would give the Cowboys home field advantage throughout the playoffs. A young and talented running back by the name of Emmitt Smith separated his shoulder in the first half of the game. Miraculously, Smith continued to play through the pain and turned in an improbable 220 total yard performance in a 16-13 overtime win over the Giants. Keep in mind that Smith missed the first two games in a bitter contract dispute with owner Jerry Jones that season. The Cowboys started the season 0-2. The personal sacrifice and bravery Smith showed in that game set the tone for a repeat championship in 93. The Cowboys went on to win another in 95 and be named the team of the 90's. Smith went on to become the leading rusher in nfl history and hall of fame inductee.

On October 23, 2006 the Dallas Cowboys played host to the New York Giants under the bright lights of Monday Night Football. Gone were the glory days of the 90's. In fact, The Cowboys had not been to the playoffs in over 6 years. Starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe was brought in as part of another failed "replace Troy Aikman" attempt. Former Giants head coach Bill Parcells was brought in to ressurect Dallas, to become America's team once again. But Bledsoe was clearly a shell of his former self and a liability on offense. Bledsoe's play was so bad he was replaced by un drafted free agent Tony Romo at half time. Romo threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns in a failed come back attempt against New York, but he immediately showed he possessed that "it" factor. Not only to be a starting quarterback, but to be a starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Romo went on to start the remainder of the season and has since went on to three pro bowls, two divisional titles, and a playoff win. Romo remains the Cowboys starter and top ten quarterback in the league today.

October 25, 2010 Dallas is one again under the bright lights of Monday Night Football playing host to the New York Giants. The Cowboys were 1-4 and in serious danger of being out of playoff contention. Buzzards could be seen circling the open roof at Cowboys stadium, knowing that with each loss there would soon be a carcass to feast on. Ironically enough, Tony Romo lay there motionless. The victim of a (clean) but vicious hit from Giants linebacker Michael Boley. It was that point where media and fans alike accused the team (and defense in particular) of quitting. The Cowboys play did little to defuse the rumor as they were blown out in their next two games by a combined 80-24. Head Coach Wade Phillips was fired and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was promoted to interim head coach. Garrett won in his head coaching debut. His opponent? The New York Giants. I'm just sayin.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Bye week good to Titans

Most nfl teams look forward to their yearly bye week. The coaching staff will get an additional week of preparation time and the players will get a few days of well deserved rest. The bye week has been especially kind to the Tennessee Titans lately, and head coach Jeff Fisher is looking to catch lightning in a bottle once again. Tennessee entered the 2009 bye week at 0-6. Owner Bud Adams stepped in and ordered Vince Young to start at quarterback. The Titans finished the season on a 8-2 run, falling one game short of a historic playoff birth.

The Titans went into this year's bye week on another loss, and it seems that lady luck has reared her beautiful head once again. After losing their breakout wide receiver Kenny Britt to a hamstring injury early against the Chargers, the Titans landed hall of famer to be Randy Moss as a replacement. The caterer for the Minnesota Vikings on that fateful Friday afternoon had to be in the right place at the right time. Randy Moss had to be in the right (or in this case wrong) mood and the rest is waiver wire history. And what are the chances that 22 other teams would refuse Moss's services? Some of those teams had glaring holes at the wide receiver position. And to throw a cheery on top, lady luck had the Colts and Texans lose in week 9. The Titans now sit in a first place tie with Indianapolis at 5-3, with five divisional games left to play. Time will tell if the Moss experiment will work out. But for now, what a week to be a Tennessee Titan.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

NFL mid term grades

We are at the halfway point of the 2010 nfl regular season. Time to pass out some mid term grades.

A

New England: The Patriots hit the half way point with the league's best record, their only loss was on the road to a tough Jets team. Oddly enough, New England seems harder to game plan for now that Randy Moss is out of the picture. Defense and special teams have made timely plays as well.

Pittsburgh: The Steelers are a solid 6-2, their only losses to Baltimore and the defending champion Saints. Not only did Pittsburgh survive the four game suspension of their star quarterback, the Steelers won two road games against winning teams with their fourth string quarterback.

St. Louis: Yes. The St. Louis Rams get an A. An A for effort. Lets keep in mind the former greatest show on turf won a total of six games the past three seasons. After eight games in 2010, they are sitting at 4-4 with a rookie quarterback and no wide receivers. Job well done St. Louis.

B

Tennessee: The Titans bounced back from an 0-6 start in 2009. At 5-3, Tennessee sits one game behind division leader Indianapolis with two head to head games remaining. With newly acquired Randy Moss, the Titans will have the capability to force a defense's hand on whether or not they want to double Moss or keep an eighth man in the box to stop their best weapon Chris Johnson.

Kansas City / Oakland: Be honest, when was the last time you cared about a Chiefs Raiders game? Well this weekend's match up will no doubt shape the division race as Oakland (4-4) sit a game and a half behind Kansas City in the afc west. I am having a hard time figuring out which team has been most surprising. Both deserve B's.

Indianapolis, Baltimore, New York (Jets and Giants), Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Philadelphia all get B's.

C

New Orleans: Call it unfair, call me spoiled. At 5-3, the Saints just look average. The running backs are now M*A*S*H cast members. Drew Brees has been turning the ball over more often and the defense is turning opponents over less often. Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas will be back soon which should no doubt help the offense. BUT, the division is much tougher this year with the Bucs and Falcons showing no sign of falling off.

Green Bay: Joining the Saints in the M*A*S*H green room are the Packers. Green Bay has been decimated with injuries to key players and have already had a couple of head scratching losses. As bad as the Vikings are this year, Green Bay still can not seem to pull away in the division.

Other C grades go to Detroit, Chicago, Washington, Seattle, Miami and Houston

D

San Diego: Here we go with another rendition of "Norv Turner and the Chargers always finish strong." Even with their come from behind victory over the Titans last week, the Chargers (3-5) sit a game out of the afc west dweller. Were talking about a division with the Broncos, Chiefs, and Raiders!

Minnesota: So many places I can go here, but let's keep it on the field. The Brett Favre retirement tour should have been cancelled before the season started. Everyone who boarded that plane last August should be waived. Brett Favre is a fierce competitor but with all of his effort, the body is simply not holding up. The passing game that fueled this offense a year ago has slowed to a painful sputter. A final super bowl run will elude Mr. Favre. The only song left? A swan song for head coach Brad Childress.

Other D nominees include Cleveland, Denver, Jacksonville, San Fransisco, and Arizona.

F

Dallas: Where do I start? The Cowboys have literally invented new and creative ways to lose this year. Dallas (1-6) is off to their worst start in over 20 years, with basically the same roster that won a playoff game a year ago. The Cowboys are so bad, owner Jerry Jones referred to his team as being 1-7 after their stunning blowout loss to Jacksonville last week. Maybe Mr. Jones was already looking ahead to this week's match up against the Packers. Wade Phillips and the entire coaching staff are officially lame ducks and the season was lost on Halloween. How poetic, trick or treat.

Buffalo and Carolina bring up the rear with their terrible play. F!